STATESBORO, Ga. – Del'Janae Williams scored 13 of her career-high 26 points in the second half to propel Indiana State to the 71-67 win over Georgia Southern on the final day of the GATA Turkey Throwdown.
 
Williams and Natalia Lalic combined to go 3-for-3 from the three-point line over the fourth quarter to lead Indiana State (2-4) in a back-and-forth final frame that featured three ties and three lead changes before the Sycamores pulled away from the Eagles (5-2) late.
 
The Sycamores tied the game up at 64-64 with a Marie Hunter layup with 1:36 remaining to set up the final stretch of the contest. Indiana State utilized their speed on the break with back-to-back layups by Mya Glanton and Lalic giving the Sycamores the 68-65 lead with 1:04 remaining.
 
Taya Gibson scored the final Eagles' basket with 51 seconds remaining to narrow the Indiana State lead down to one point. Williams converted 1-of-2 from the free throw line on the ensuing ISU possession to put the Sycamores back ahead by two with 27 seconds remaining.
 
Both teams missed free throws down the stretch before Williams iced the contest with a pair of conversions from the stripe with 0.8 seconds remaining in the Sycamores' 71-67 win.
 
Williams went 6-of-11 from the floor, 4-of-7 from the three-point line, and 10-of-12 from the free throw line on the way to her second 20-point game of her career. She added four assists and three steals, while posting a blocked shot to pace an ISU defensive effort that held Georgia Southern 0-for-14 from the three-point line in the win.
 
Lalic (13) connected on 3-of-6 from the three-point line on her way to a season-high 13 points, while Hunter (12) and Glanton (10) were also in double-digits for the Sycamores. Glanton added a team-high seven rebounds, while Hunter had five of ISU's 13 steals in the game.
 
Gibson paced Georgia Southern's efforts with a team-high 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor. Ja'nya Love-Hill added 13 points in the Eagles loss.
 
First Half
Georgia Southern took control of the game early with an 8-3 run as four different Eagles scored to start the contest. The Sycamores rallied back with five consecutive points to tie the game up for the first time with Willams converting a pair of free throws and hitting her first three-pointer of the game at the 5:56 mark. The quarter continued to go back-and-forth with the Eagles holding a five-point edge on a Gibson layup at the 1:51 mark to go up 20-15. The margin remained the same the rest of the quarter as ISU trailed 24-19 at the quarter break.
 
The Eagles lead reached seven points on Gibson's layup on GSU's first possession of the second quarter to go up 26-19. The Sycamores scored the next six points to make it a one-possession game with Lalic, Williams, and Glanton all hitting shots to cut the margin to down to one with 6:24 remaining. Lalic tied the game up at 32-32 with a three-pointer from the corner with 2:50 remaining before the Eagles put in the final four points of the half to hold the 36-32 lead following the Lydia Freeman layup.
 
Second Half
Georgia Southern held a two-possession lead throughout the early portion of the third quarter with Love-Hill converting a layup at the 8:04 mark to put the Eagles ahead 40-34. The Sycamores utilized a 7-0 run with Williams sandwiching an Arianna Smith layup with a pair of free throws and a three-pointer to put ISU ahead 43-42.
 
The Sycamores shooting went cold for a nearly five minute span as GSU went ahead 51-45 with 3:57 remaining on an Eden Johnson layup. ISU's defense carried the team during the stretch with Smith converting a pair of free throws, before Hunter scored the final four points of the third quarter to cut the lead down to 52-51 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Lalic gave the Sycamores their first lead of the fourth quarter with a three-pointer on Indiana State's opening possession setting up a back-and-forth stretch where the teams swapped the lead. Lalic added her second three-pointer of the quarter with 5:39 remaining to put ISU ahead 54-49 at the media timeout.
 
The Eagles rallied back to take the 64-62 lead with 2:12 remaining on a Johnson layup before Hunter came through in the clutch with a put-back to tie the game back up. Glanton and Lalic both scored on the next two ISU possessions down the court to give ISU the 68-65 lead and setting the stage for Williams' late free throws to clinch the victory.
 
Inside the Statistics

• Indiana State shot 46.9% from the floor, 43.8% from the three-point line, and 69.2% from the free throw line in the win.
• Georgia Southern shot 50.0% from the floor, 0.0% from the three-point line, and 54.2% from the free throw line.
• Georgia Southern controlled the paint in the contest with a 35-28 rebounding edge and a 54-18 edge in scoring in points in the paint.
• The Sycamores' speed was evident throughout the game with ISU posting a 17-6 edge in fast break points and 27-16 advantage on points off turnovers.
• The Eagles held the 41-8 edge in bench scoring.
• Indiana State held Georgia Southern without a three-pointer in the contest with the Eagles failing to convert any of their 14 attempts in the game.
• Neither team held more than a seven-point lead in the contest.
• The game featured 12 lead changes and eight ties.

News & Notes

• Del'Janae Williams posted a career-high 26 points for her second collegiate 20-point game and first since scoring 23 against UIC back on November 19, 2019.
• Natalia Lalic's 13 points were also a career-high for the junior forward and eclipsed her previous-high of 12 set against Western Illinois on December 7, 2020.
• Hunter's 12-point game made it back-to-back contests in double-digits following her 19-point game against Jacksonville State on Friday afternoon.
• Mya Glanton also set a new career-high with 10 points on Saturday afternoon, passing her previous-high of nine set earlier this season at Saint Louis.
• Indiana State's seven made three-pointers tied a season-high set in the opener against Stephens (Mo.).
• Indiana State also converted a team-high 18 free throws on the season.
• The Sycamores limited the Eagles without a three-pointer in the contest marking the second time ISU has held an opponent scoreless behind the arc (Stephens – 0-for-12).
• Indiana State picks up their first win in program history over Georgia Southern and improves to 6-2 all-time against current members of the Sun Belt Conference.
• Indiana State has forced at least 15 turnovers in each of the six games this season with GSU's 21 the third time they've posted at least 20 turnovers on defense this season. 

Up Next
Indiana State closes out its longest road trip of the 2021-22 season on Wednesday, December 1, as the Sycamores make the trip to Chicago, Ill. and the Jones Convocation Center for a 7 p.m. ET tipoff against Chicago State University. The game will be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
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