NORMAL, Ill. – Indiana State women's basketball played tough basketball to open the conference, but Illinois State was able to defeat the Sycamores at Redbird Arena on Friday night, 83-69.
 
A trio of Trees led the Indiana State scoring effort, as Jasmine Elder, Sommer Pitzer and Del'Janae Williams all ended with 13 points. Caitlin Anderson was close to the double-digit mark as well, ending with nine.
 
As a team, the Sycamores brought down 38 rebounds and was led by junior Jamyra McChristine with five. The blue and white also ended with 14 assists, their best outing since a victory at Illinois-Chicago on November 19.
 
Illinois State held the advantage at the free throw line, knocking down 24-33 attempts while Indiana State finished just 5-8.
 
Like most Missouri Valley Conference games, it was a battle from the very beginning. Williams had a strong opening stretch of play, forcing Lexi Wallen into a turnover and converting it into an easy layup on the other end to get the Trees on the board first. A minute later, McChristine's hustle would keep things alive on the offensive end as she chased down a rebound, leading to Pitzer finding Marie Hunter for an open triple, making it 7-4 in favor of the blue and white. The teams would continue to trade blows up until the first media timeout where Illinois State would lead 10-9.
 
 
Freshman center Alyssa Robben immediately made her presence known after the media timeout, pulling down an offensive rebound and finding Hunter for an easy lay-in to give Indiana State the lead. The Redbirds would get hot after Hunter found the bottom of the net, taking off for a 13-2 run to claim a 10-point lead. Elder managed to knock down a tough three with one-minute remaining to cut the lead back down to seven, but Illinois State would hold a 25-16 lead at the end of the first.
 
Picking up where they left off, Illinois State opened the second period with a transition three from Mary Crompton, but Williams would answer for the blue and white after Pitzer would find her at the wing. Ultimately, the Redbirds would push their lead to 13, but a seven-minute field goal drought would give the Trees a chance to get back into the game. Elder would draw a charge with 4:01 remaining, sparking a 7-1 run that featured a Williams triple and pull-up jumpers by Elder and CeCe Mayo, making it 37-36 in favor of the opposition with 58 seconds to go before half.
 
A flurry of points by Illinois State in the last minute would give the red and white a 44-38 halftime advantage. Indiana State shot just one free throw in the first half while the host ended 12-17 from the line.
 
Indiana State would deliver the first punch in the second half, led by Pitzer. The freshman guard caught fire to start, slicing through the defense for a layup to star the half and converting an old-fashioned three-point play to pull within on. Hattie Westerfeld would finish the 7-0 Sycamore run with a wide open layup off of a beautiful dime right outside the lane from Williams. With 8:01 remaining in the third, the blue and white were in control, 45-44.
 
The second punch of the quarter would come from the Redbirds, who responded with a 5-1 run of their own to take a 48:45 lead heading into the media timeout. It was Caitlin Anderson's time to shine coming out of the timeout, putting on a 5-0 run of her own to give the Trees the lead. A spin move and jumper in the middle of the paint by Mayo would push the run to 7-0 and the lead to 52-48 in favor of Indiana State. The Redbirds, however, would end the period on a 10-0 run and take a 62-54 lead into the final frame.
 
While the Redbirds stayed hot, the Sycamores refused to give up. Williams managed to swipe the ball at half court with 8:35 remaining to end the Redbird 13-0 run, but Illinois State would control most of the fourth quarter. The Trees did manage to cut the lead down to 79-69 with 40 seconds remaining thanks to intense pressure in their press, but the Redbirds were able to hang on for the 83-69 victory.
 
TeTe Maggett and Lexi Wallen led the Redbirds on Friday evening, finish with 27 points and seven rebounds and 26 points and eight rebounds, respectively.
 
The Trees are back in action on Sunday when they travel to Peoria, Ill., for a matchup with the Bradley Braves at 3 p.m. ET.
 
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.