TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Sycamore women's basketball came out hot and didn't look back on Friday night, ending a 16-game losing streak by defeating in-state rival Evansville, 68-58.
 
The Sycamores earned their first win since Nov. 19 and improved to 3-18 (1-8) while the Purple Aces dropped to 10th in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 3-17 (0-9) mark.
 
Indiana State led from wire-to-wire in their victory at the Hulman Center, never allowing the Purple Aces to lead. Playing a huge role in the success of the Sycamores on Friday was their dominance on the glass. ISU pulled down 46 rebounds, their most since their win against Illinois-Chicago on Nov. 19, for a 46-34 advantage.
 
Jamyra McChristine led the rebounding effort for the Trees, pulling down a game-high 13 rebounds and fellow junior Marie Hunter brought down eight.
 
Three Sycamores broke the double-digit point threshold, led by Del'Janae Williams who earned 16 points, her second-straight game leading ISU. Junior CeCe Mayo contributed 12 points and Hunter ended with 11 points.
 
As a team, the Trees connected on nine three pointers which is their highest total all season. Williams finished her evening 4-8 from behind the arc to lead the blue and white.
 
Holding only a three-point lead with 7:24 remaining in the game, the Sycamores toughened up and managed to put the Aces away. Williams drilled a triple to push the lead to six, 50-44, with 7:08 to go, sparking an 11-4 run to give the Trees a nine-point advantage.
 
ISU put the pedal down with back-to-back Mayo layups and a Hunter layup to push their lead to seven before Hunter lobbed a beautiful pass to Williams on a fast break. Williams managed to fight through contact to convert the lay-in while earning a foul, forcing Evansville to take a timeout, down 58-49 with 4:55 remaining.
 
The Purple Aces would not get closer than eight for the rest of the game, thanks to 5-7 shooting from the line late in the game.
 
Unlike past games, the Trees came out in the opening minutes on fire. Indiana State opened the game on a 10-2 run, getting three points each from Mayo, Sommer Pitzer and Williams. With 2:13 remaining in the opening period, Williams drove the lane and found Hattie Westerfeld on the baseline to give ISU a 17-8 lead, their biggest of the quarter. The Sycamores would lead 17-10 at the conclusion of one.
 
The Purple Aces would respond by opening the second quarter on a 7-2 run, capped off by a Feit triple with 6:42 remaining to pull within 20-17. Hunter had an answer for the Trees on the very next possession, hitting a three to push the lead back to six.
 
Hunter's three began a 9-4 run for Indiana State that finished with Pitzer's second three of the contest to give the Trees a 30-21 lead with 2:14 to go before halftime. With 50 seconds remaining before the halftime break, McChristine battled her way to the basket to push the ISU lead to 10, 34-24, heading into the break.
 
Similar to the second quarter, the Aces opened the opening period of the second half on a 10-3 run to trim the Sycamore lead to three. Jossie Hudson connected from beyond the arc with 4:47 left in the third to get UE to within 37-34. Also similar to the second quarter, Pitzer had an answer. The freshman made her third three of the night with 4:24 to go and then Adrian Folks followed that up with layup to make it 42-34 in favor of the Trees.
 
Neither team was able to put together a string of points consecutively after that, but a layup by Evansville's A'Nilah Griffin with three seconds left ended the period with the Sycamores up five, 45-40.
 
Feit led the offensive effort for the Purple Aces, tallying 16 points on 6-12 shooting to go along with six rebounds.
 
The Sycamores now have a week to prepare for their next road-swing in Valley place, as they'll travel north to Loyola and Valparaiso next Friday and Saturday.
 
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.