TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Valparaiso had the hot hand from the opening buzzer to the final horn, as Indiana State women's basketball was unable to overcome the Crusaders' 56.9% shooting night, falling 75-56.
 
While Valpo finished the game near 60% from the floor, Indiana State finished 18-47 for 38.3%. A bright spot the for the Sycamores, however, was their shooting at the charity stripe. The blue and white finished 17-25 for 68%, their best outing at the line since shooting 76% at Pacific on Nov. 29.
 
On the defensive side, the Trees managed to hold Valparaiso to just seven triples after the Crusaders nailed 14 in their last outing against Missouri State. Unlike previous games, Valpo did most of their damage in the lane, holding a 44-26 advantage in points in the paint.
 
Balanced scoring continued for the blue and white, as four Sycamores passed the 10-point threshold. Junior CeCe Mayo led the way, finishing with 13 points while also forcing four steals and drawing seven fouls.
 
Fellow junior Marie Hunter finished with 12 points and five boards, Caitlin Anderson ended with 11 points and five rebounds and Sommer Pitzer ended her evening at 10 points. Indiana State has now had at least three double-digit scorers in their 11 of their 15 games.
 
As a team, the Sycamores managed to force 19 turnovers along with 11 steals. Valparaiso held the edge in rebounding, 30-27, and assists, 15-7. ISU ended the evening with a 10-6 advantage in fast break points.
 
Individually, Addison Stoller led the way for the Crusaders, finishing her night with 16 points on 6-8 shooting to go along with five rebounds and three steals.
 
Trailing by 15 at halftime, the Trees struggled to contain the Crusaders in the lane, as Valpo pushed their lead to 21, 49-28, with 3:30 to go in the third. ISU put down the defensive clamp for the rest of the period and used an 8-2 run, four points of which came from Mayo, to pull back within 15 at the end of the period, 51-36.
 
Indiana State continued to fight, using back-to-back triples from Mayo and Pitzer to make it 56-44 with 8:15 remaining in the game. That's as close as the blue and white would get, however, as the Valparaiso shooters had an answer for every ISU shot.
 
The Sycamores fall to 2-13 on the season and 0-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play after Friday night, but have an opportunity to right the ship on Sunday when Loyola comes to town for a 2 p.m. ET tip.
 
For the latest information on the Sycamore Women's Basketball team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.