TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Sycamore women's basketball showed drastic improvements from their 40-point defeat at Drake on Jan. 17, but a high-powered Drake offense was still too much for the Sycamores to overcome on Saturday afternoon.
 
Indiana State cut their road deficit nearly in half, falling to the Bulldogs 92-71 in Hulman Center and moving to 4-21 (2-11) on the season. Drake improved to 18-7 (10-3.
 
For the second-consecutive game, Jamyra McChristine dominated in the post for the blue and white. The junior put up a game-high 22 points while also pulling down eight rebounds and adding one assist. Over the weekend McChristine averaged 23 points and 8.5 rebounds.
 
Fellow junior CeCe Mayo also contributed on the offensive end, tallying 15 points as well as four rebounds, four assists and three steals. The only other Sycamore in double-figures was freshman Jasmine Elder who ended with 13 points which included a trifecta of triples.
 
The Drake offense did Drake things in the Hulman Center as the Bulldogs shot 35-60 (58.3%) from the field on an impressive 29 assists. They also finished 8-17 (47.15) from behind the arc.
 
On the other side of the court, the Sycamore didn't shoot poorly, converting on 28-66 (42.4%) from the field, but struggled from behind the line, finishing 5-17 (29.4%).
 
Defensively, ISU did make things tougher on the Bulldogs than they did earlier in the season, forcing the Bulldogs into 20 turnovers while recording seven steals. Both Mayo and Del'Janae Williams came away with three swipes for the Trees.
 
The Sycamores came out of the gate hot, racing to an 11-9 lead behind a Mayo layup with 4:58 on the clock. Both teams would exchange baskets over the next two minutes with Drake holding a one-point lead, but the Bulldogs would end the frame on a 7-2 run to take a 24-18 advantage into the second quarter.
 
Drake's offense woke up in the second period, as the Bulldogs put up 29 points while holding the Trees to 18 in the period for a 17-point halftime advantage. The Drake defense managed to put McChristine on the bench early with foul trouble and eight points from Elder was what kept the blue and white within 20.
 
Recovering from a difficult second quarter, the Sycamores were helped by the low-post presence of McChristine in the third quarter. With the Bulldogs threatening to pull away for good up 25, 70-45, with 3:57 remaining in the quarter, the junior went got hot and put up nine points over the final four minutes, including three-straight buckets down low from 1:52-0:44. McChristine ended her third quarter with 16 points and six rebounds on 7-8 shooting.
 
After falling behind by 24 early in the final period, ISU would pull within 19 thanks to a Mayo steal and layup on the other end, but that's as close as the Sycamores would get, falling to the Bulldogs 92-71.
 
Sara Rhine and Becca Hittner led the Bulldogs on Saturday, ending with 19 points and nine boards and 14 points and seven rebounds, respectively.
 
The Sycamores will hit the road again next weekend for their final weekend road trip of the year, facing off against Southern Illinois next Friday, Feb. 21 and Missouri State next Sunday, Feb. 23.
 
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.