CARBONDALE, Ill. – Sycamore women's hoops battled back from a slow start, but Southern Illinois pulled away late to earn a 60-42 victory in the Banterra Center on Friday in front of 452 fans.
 
Despite not playing the second half after taking a hard fall in the second quarter, Jamyra McChristine was the lone Sycamore to cross the double-digit point threshold, ending with 12 points to lead the Blue & White. All but one Sycamore that recorded minutes on Friday did manage to score.
 
Indiana State struggled from the field, shooting 14-of-46 for 30.4 percent while Southern Illinois ended the game 20-of-53 for 37.7 percent. The Trees did manage to hold a slight edge in the in the paint, outscoring SIU 28-24 in the lane.
 
The Salukis started the game on an 8-0 run, forcing the Sycamores into the early timeout. Freshman Adrian Folks broke the run right out of the timeout, knocking down a mid-range jumper with 7:01 on the clock.
 
Both teams struggled from the floor following the ISU timeout, with the Salukis taking a 13-7 lead at the end of the quarter thanks to a triple from Brittney Patrick as time expired.
 
Starting the second period, the Sycamores managed to cut the lead down to four after Jasmine Elder found Del'Janae Williams for a layup with 7:52 remaining, but the Salukis responded with a 9-2 run to take a 24-13 lead before heading into halftime ahead, 28-17.
 
After falling behind 40-29 at the 4:04 mark of the third quarter, ISU went on a 6-1 run, getting consecutive buckets from Alyssa Robben, Hattie Westerfeld and Caitlin Anderson to make it 41-35 in favor of SIU. The Salukis managed to get a bucket six seconds later to take an eight-point lead into the final frame.
 
Southern Illinois started the fourth quarter on a 10-0 run and never looked back, earning the 60-42 victory.
 
The Salukis were led by Nicole Martine who ended with 17 points and nine boards.
 
Indiana State is back in action on Sunday afternoon when they travel to Springfield, Mo., for a matchup with #18/23 Missouri State.
 
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.