TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State was unable to overcome inopportune turnovers in the contest and Eastern Illinois took advantage down the stretch as the Sycamores fell at home to the visiting Panthers on Wednesday night, 64-55.
 
Indiana State (1-2) shot 40.7% (22-of-54) from the field in the contest and held the 33-31 rebounding edge in a back-and-forth game through the first three quarters in the Sycamores' second home contest of the 2021-22 season. The Panthers (2-0) took advantage of five Indiana State turnovers down the stretch and scored seven points off the miscues in taking the nonconference win.
 
Adrian Folks was back in double-digits for the third consecutive game as the junior forward finished with 15 points and five rebounds, while Del'Janae Williams was in double-digits for the second time of the season with 11 points and four rebounds in the loss.
 
Eastern Illinois' Abby Wahl led all players with a game-high 17 points and eight rebounds, while Kira Arthofer added 16 points and seven assists in the win. Lariah Washington added 11 points, while Jordyn Hughes had 10 as four of the Panthers starters recorded double-digit points in the contest.
 
First Half
Arianna Smith scored the first four points of the contest to put the Sycamores ahead early and Marie Hunter added a pair of layups to give ISU the 8-5 lead at the first media timeout. The Panthers rallied back on a Kira Arthofer three-pointer to tie the game up at 8-8 with 4:13 left in the first quarter and the teams swapped baskets to go into the quarter break tied up 10-10.
 
Essy Latu jump-started the Sycamores offense with a three-pointer in ISU's first possession of the second quarter to set off a frantic scoring pace by both sides. Adrian Folks got into the mix with 11 consecutive points over a seven-minute span to give the Sycamores a 24-21 lead with 1:43 remaining in the half. Del'Janae Williams added a late three-pointer just before the half to put Indiana State ahead 27-25 at the break.
 
Second Half
Folks continued her scoring streak at the start of the third quarter to put the Sycamores back ahead 29-27 with 9:09 remaining on the block. Smith worked her way back into the mix with a three-point play to tie the game up at 32-32 as the game continued to swing back-and-forth. EIU's Morgan Litwiller put the Panthers ahead 40-37 with 3:12 remaining in the quarter on a layup before the Sycamores rallied back with a five-point swing capped by a Tonysha Curry layup to set the stage for a 44-44 tie at the end of the third.
 
The Panthers took the quick lead on an Arthofer layup on EIU's opening possession and the Panthers took advantage of four ISU turnovers on their way to building a double-digit lead at 58-48 with 2:33 remaining on a Washington layup. Anna McKendree connected on a late three-pointer to cut the lead down to 62-55 with 26 seconds remaining, but that was as close as the Sycamores would get the rest of the way.
 
Inside the Statistics

• Indiana State shot 40.7% from the floor, 19.0% from the three-point line, and 70.0% from the free throw line in the loss.
• Eastern Illinois shot 39.6% from the floor, 29.4% from the three-point line, and 73.9% from the free throw line in the win.
• The Sycamores held the 33-31 rebounding edge, but the Panthers held the 32-30 advantage on points in the paint.
• The Sycamores led the way with 13 second-chance points, while Williams (11), McKendree (7), and Latu (5) combined to help ISU outscore the EIU bench, 25-3.
• The Panthers held the 25-13 edge in points off turnovers.

News & Notes

• Arianna Smith made her first collegiate start on Wednesday night as the Columbus, Ohio native made her Hulman Center debut. The true freshman forward was out the first game of the season against Stephens (Mo.) due to injury.
• Adrian Folks was back in double-digits before halftime for the second consecutive game as the junior forward had 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting with 5-of-5 from the free throw line at the break. She finished with a team-high 15 points and five rebounds.
• Del'Janae Williams was one off her season-high with 11 points in her second double-digit scoring effort of the season.

Up Next
Indiana State hits the road for the next four games as the Sycamores start the road trek on Wednesday, November 24 at Western Kentucky University. Tipoff between Indiana State and WKU is set for noon ET in E.A. Diddle Arena.
 
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