Women's Basketball vs Xavier
Date	Monday, Dec. 14 | 7:00 p.m. ET
Location // Venue	Cincinnati, Ohio // Cintas Center
Preview Info	Indiana State Notes // Xavier Notes // MVC Notes
Live Stats	Live Stat Feed
Watch	FloHoops
Listen	N/A
Social Media	@IndStWBB // @IndStAthletics
Attendance Information	300 fans allowed in attendance.

CINCINNATI – Indiana State women's basketball hits the road on Monday following a two-game home stand when they travel to Cincinnati, Ohio for a matchup with Big East foe, Xavier.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Monday marks the 11th meeting between the Sycamores and Musketeers in a series that begin on Dec. 18, 1982. Xavier owns a 6-4 advantage in the series, including five-consecutive victories. ISU last met Xavier on Mar. 21, 2005 and fell, 79-72.
 
LAST TIME OUT
ISU picked up a victory over Western Illinois, 78-51. Defensively, the Sycamores held Western Illinois to just 18-of-69 (26.1%) shooting from the field, including 9-of-33 (27.3%) from deep, the lowest allowed percentage since a 61-59 victory over UNI on Feb. 9, 2017 when the Panthers shot 25.8%. It was also the largest Sycamore victory since a 36-point drubbing of Davenport on Dec. 30, 2018. On the other end of the floor, Indiana State connected on 33-of-65 (50.8%) from the floor and 12-of-24 (50.0%) from long distance. Essy Latu once again led the offensive effort with 18 points, with all six of her buckets coming from three-point land.
 
HOT SHOOTING
Essy Latu continues to light-up the bucket for Indiana State, most recently connecting on 6-of-9 from deep against Western Illinois. It was her second time this season connecting on six triples in a game and has her tied for the second-most threes made in a single game in Hulman Center history, while her 66.7% conversion rate from the matchup is the 8th-best in Hulman Center history. Latu is currently 18th in the nation in three-point field goals made per game (3.75) and 19th in total made threes at 15. She is shooting a blistering 45.5% from deep on the year.
 
OFFENSE ENGAGE
With their 78-51 victory over Western Illinois on Monday, the Sycamores have put together 246 points over three games. Their total is the highest scoring output for the Blue & White over a three-game stretch since scoring 294 in games against Drake (84), Creighton (89) and Evansville (91) from Dec. 29, 2006-Jan. 4, 2007. After averaging only 59.8 points per game a year ago, the Trees are fourth in the Valley averaging 73.8 points per game.
 
THE DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
During the 2019-20 campaign, the Sycamores found themselves towards the bottom of the Valley in many offensive categories. ISU averaged just 59.8 points per game while dishing out 10.3 assists throughout the previous season. The story is different this season, however, with the Trees fourth in the Valley in points-per-game at 73.8, fourth in total assists at 63 (73rd nationally) and, fifth in assists per game at 15.75 (69th nationally).
 
AUSTRALIAN CONNECTION
Essy Latu and Natalia Lalic caught fire against Western Illinois from behind the arc to help the Sycamores to their third-consecutive win of the season. The two Australians connected on 10 three-pointers during the game, the most by any Sycamore duo and most by a duo since Alexis Delgado (5) and Ashli O'Neal (4) connected for nine against Butler on Dec. 21, 2017.
 
DOMINATING THE BOARDS
Indiana State dominated the Leathernecks on the boards in their 78-51 victory on Monday. The Trees held a 51-36 rebounding advantage, their first time surpassing 50 rebounds in a game since grabbing 50 at Evansville on Jan. 31, 2016. ISU is fourth in the Valley with 41.8 rebounds per game and holds a +7.0 margin, which is 71st in the NCAA.
 
STILL YOUNG
After having the least amount of Division I experience with 14 newcomers a season ago, the Trees are still young. They are one of three programs in Division I with all of their athletes to have two years or less DI experience. Murray State and Ole Miss make up the other two programs.
 
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.