TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – After trailing by 12 points in the fourth quarter, Sycamore women's basketball managed to get within four of the Illinois State Redbirds, but couldn't get over the hump, falling 62-55 in the regular season finale on Sunday.
 
Indiana State ends the regular season 5-25, 3-15 in the Missouri Valley Conference while the Redbirds improve to 19-10, 11-7 in the MVC.
 
For the second-straight game Marie Hunter led the way for the Sycamores on offense, tallying 18 points in addition to five rebounds and four assists and a steal. Freshman Del'Janae Williams chipped-in nine points for the Trees as well as four assists.
 
Jamyra McChristine pulled down a team-high six rebounds to go along with her eight points and two steals, while ISU as a team grabbed 28 rebounds while the Redbirds ended with 33.
 
Both squads battled in the low post, ending tied at 32 in points in the paint while the Blue & White held a 9-2 advantage in second chance points, despite being out-rebounded. The Redbirds, however, did take advantage of the ISU turnovers, scoring 23 points off of 15 turnovers.
 
Trailing 55-43 with 4:59 remaining in the game, the Sycamores went on a 12-4 run to cut the Illinois State lead down to four. Hunter knocked down a triple with with 3:27 left to make it 57-50 before a Caitlin Anderson three and McChristine layup pulled the Sycamores to within 59-55.
 
TeTe Maggett would squelch the Sycamore run and help the Redbirds secure the victory by slicing through the Indiana State defense for a layup with 56 seconds left.
 
The Sycamore offense had no trouble getting started on Saturday, as Sommer Pitzer opened the game with a three-pointer, helping the Trees to a 9-4 start with 6:18 on the clock. Juliunn Redmond and Mary Crompton of Illinois State would put up five straight points to make it 11-9 in favor of the Sycamores at the media timeout. Illinois State managed to end the first quarter on a 10-2 run, capped off Maggett layup with 53 seconds on the clock to own a 16-13 lead at the quarter break.
 
Illinois State wasted no time pushing their lead to seven to start the second quarter, getting a triple from McKenna Sims with 8:49 remaining. Responding to the Redbird run, the Trees put together a 5-0 run thanks to back-to-back layups by Williams and CeCe Mayo, making it 23-21 in favor of the Redbirds with 5:57 on the clock.
 
Both teams would exchange blows over the next three minutes until Hunter connected on a deep triple with 2:05 to trim the lead to three, but the opposition would get a runner from Maggett with four seconds left to take a 31-26 advantage into halftime.
 
Much like how the Redbirds began the second quarter, Indiana State would get a flurry of points to begin the third and make it 33-33 behind a turnaround jumper from Hunter at the 7:23 mark. Illinois State responded with a 7-0 run of their own to reclaim control with 5:17 remaining in the third.
 
The Trees did manage to cut the lead down to four again, 40-36, thanks to an and-one from Mayo off of an offensive rebound at 4:27, but once again the opposition would respond, opening up an eight point lead off of a Crompton triple with 1:47 remaining. Illinois State would take a 46-39 lead into the final frame.
 
Lexi Wallen was the leader for the Redbirds on Saturday, ending her afternoon with 18 points and nine rebounds.
 
Indiana State will now focus on the MVC Tournament in Moline, Ill., as they have secured the nine-seed and will faceoff with Loyola at 5 p.m. on Thurs. Mar. 12.
 
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.