SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The short-handed Sycamore women's basketball squad battled late with #18 Missouri State, but the Lady Bears were too much to handle, defeating ISU 82-58 in front of 2,668 fans at JQH Arena.
 
Indiana State fell to 4-23, 2-13 MVC on the season while Missouri State improved to 23-3, 13-1 MVC.
 
Freshman Caitlin Anderson led the Sycamore offensive effort, recording a team-high 15 points to go along with two assists and two rebounds. Marie Hunter also had a strong offensive day, tallying 14 points and four rebounds on 6-of-7 shooting.
 
The Trees shot 23-of-57 from the field for 40.4 percent, but struggled from three, ending at 1-of-11 for 9.1 percent. The opposition ended 25-of-57 for 43.9 percent and 4-of-15 from deep for 26.7 percent.
 
It was a quick offensive start for the home Lady Bears, getting four fast points from Alexa Willard. Mayo would start the offense for the Sycamores, however, converting on a runner in the lane with 8:59 on the clock and then swiping a bad pass for a layup at 6:46 to pull the Sycamores to within 8-4. The Missouri State offense would remain hot, pushing their opening run to 18-4 and taking a 16-point lead into the second quarter, 25-9. Mayo tallied six of ISU's nine first quarter points.
 
Starting the second quarter much like the first, Mayo knocked down a mid-range jumper to start the period. ISU would then get an important contribution from Anderson off of the bench, as the freshman checked-in and immediately made her mark, knocking down two tough jumpers to pull the Trees within 27-15 with 6:15 remaining.
 
The Lady Bear offense found their rhythm after the Sycamores pulled within 12, going on a 10-2 run to open-up a 20-point lead, 37-17 at 1:37. Indiana State responded, getting two more hard-earned floaters in the lane from Hunter and Sommer Pitzer to make it a 16-point game once again at halftime, 39-23.
 
Missouri State came out swinging to start the second half, pushing their lead to 44-23 at the 8:46 mark. The Lady Bears would manage to extend their lead to 23 before Anderson muscled-up and earned back-to-back and-one plays, the last one coming 3:47 to make it 53-34 in favor of MSU. Missouri State would end the period on an 11-4 run, however, to own a 66-38 advantage with one quarter remaining.
 
Despite the steep deficit with 10 minutes remaining, Anderson continued to battle for the Sycamores. The freshman scored the first four points of the quarter for the Blue & White, including picking-off another pass for a layup with 9:29 remaining. Anderson also connected in the lane with Alyssa Robben and Adrian Folks to make it 69-46 at the 7:57 mark.
 
The Sycamores continued to apply pressure to the Lady Bears, pulling within 18 after using a 7-0 run with 4:54 left in the game. Hunter put together four of the team's seven points during the stretch, including tracking down an offensive rebound and knocking down a floater at 5:11.  That's as close as the Trees would get, however, as Missouri State earned the 82-58 victory.
 
Indiana State is back in action next Friday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. when they travel to Evansville, Ind., for a matchup with the Purple Aces.
 
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.