TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State women's basketball begins a three-game road trip Wednesday evening when it takes on Northern Iowa inside the McLeod Center. Tipoff between the Sycamores and Panthers is set for 5 p.m. with the game being carried on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 

Women's Basketball at Northern Iowa
Date	Wednesday, February 2 | 5 p.m. ET
Location // Venue	Cedar Falls, Iowa // McLeod Center (6,650)
Preview Info	Indiana State Notes // Northern Iowa Notes
Live Stats	Live Stat Feed
Watch	ESPN+
Listen	105.5 The Legend
Social Media	@IndStWBB // @IndStAthletics
Game Day Guidelines	Hulman Center Guidelines

 
Last Time Out
Indiana State gave preseason Valley favorite Missouri State all it could handle Saturday afternoon, but the Lady Bears eked out a 62-58 over the shorthanded Sycamores inside the Hulman Center.
 
Natalia Lalic led the Sycamores with 15 points and also had a game-high four assists. Del'Janae Williams and Caitlin Anderson had 12 points apiece, while Mya Glanton had 11 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.
 
Indiana State trailed by as many as 14, but outscored Missouri State 47-38 over the final three quarters. The Sycamores tied the game at 52-all after Lalic hit a 3-pointer with just over two minutes left, but Missouri State scored on each of its next three possessions to squeak past the Sycamores.
 
A Closer Look at Northern Iowa
Northern Iowa enters the week at 12-6 overall and 5-2 in MVC play. The Panthers have won two straight, including a 60-36 victory over Bradley in their last game. UNI is also 5-1 at home, with the lone setback being a one-point loss to nationally-ranked Iowa State.
 
Grace Boffeli finished with a double-double for UNI against Bradley with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Karli Rucker also scored in double-figures for the Panthers, who had 13 players see the floor against the Braves.
 
Rucker leads the Panthers in scoring at 13.1 points per game and also has a team-high 64 assists, while Kam Finley averages 11.1 points per game. UNI has a balanced offense, with eight players averaging at least five points per game. Boffeli leads the team in rebounding at 8.4 boards per contest.
 
Series History Against Northern Iowa
Indiana State has a 42-37 lead in the all-time series, though Northern Iowa has won each of the last two meeting and also has a 21-16 lead in games played in Cedar Falls.
 
UNI won both meetings last year between the schools, winning 95-69 in the first game and 88-53 in the second game. Adrian Folks had a game-high 21 points for the Sycamores in the first meeting and led ISU with 12 points in the second game.
 
High Octane
Indiana State has hit its stride on the offensive end since conference play began. The Sycamores lead the Valley in scoring during conference play at 70.2 points per game and are the only team in the conference averaging 70 points per game in MVC play. Included in that statistic is an 85-point game against Valpo, which is the highest point total for the Sycamores against a Division I opponent this season and the most in a conference game for ISU since February 2021.
 
Indiana State has three players averaging at least 13 points per game during conference play (Del'Janae Williams, Marie Hunter and Natalia Lalic), with five others also averaging at least five points per game against Valley foes.
 
Deadeye
Indiana State guard Natalia Lalic has become a matchup problem for opposing teams during Valley play, with the Australia native averaging 13.3 points per game in conference games. Lalic has scored in double-figures in three of the four MVC games she has played in, including a career-high 20 against Drake, and has made multiple 3-pointers in three of the four conference games as well.
 
She has connected on 43.5 percent of her attempts from beyond the arc (10-for-23) against Valley foes, with nearly half of her made 3-pointers coming in conference play.
 
 
Balanced Attack
Indiana State's offense doesn't necessarily have a marquee scorer, but that plays to the benefit of the Sycamores. Eight different players have led the Sycamores in scoring in a game this season, with Del'Janae Williams having a team-high five games as the Sycamores' leading scorer.
 
Thievery
Indiana State's defense continues to remain among the nation's best as the Sycamores enter Friday's contest sitting in the top 25 in a pair of team defensive categories. The Sycamores are 14th in steals per game (11.7) and 18th in turnovers forced (21.53). ISU also leads the Valley in total steals (199), while ranking second in the conference in turnover margin (plus-3.24).
 
The Sycamores have frequently disrupted opposing offenses this season, recording at least eight steals in 16 of the first 17 games season. ISU has 13 games with 10 or more steals this season.
 
ISU has often translated its success on the defensive end to the offensive side as well. The Sycamores are averaging 23 points per game off turnovers and have 20 or more points off turnovers in eight of the last 11 games.
 
Banner Year
The 2021-22 season has already seen multiple Indiana State players set career highs in the scoring column. Overall, five different returning Sycamores have set new career bests in scoring this season, with a trio of newcomers also posting double-digit efforts this season.
 
Del'Janae Williams had a career-high 26 in Indiana State's road win over Georgia Southern in one of her four 20-point games this season, as she scored 24 against Chicago State, 21 against Evansville and 24 against Valpo. Adrian Folks had a career-best 24 in a double-double at Saint Louis, while Mya Glanton set career-high marks of 22 points and 16 rebounds against Western Michigan.
 
Marie Hunter (19 vs. Jacksonville State, 22 vs. Bradley) and Natalia Lalic (13 at Georgia Southern and vs. Bradley, 20 at Drake, 15 vs. Missouri State) have also set their career highs in scoring this season. In addition, newcomers Tonysha Curry (15 vs. UIC, 13 vs. Valpo), Anna McKendree (13 vs. Stephens (Mo.), 14 at Purdue Fort Wayne, 10 at Drake, 18 vs. Illinois State) and Arianna Smith (11 at Western Kentucky and vs. Bradley, 15 vs. Valpo) have hit double-figures in scoring during their first seasons in the Blue and White.

Follow the Sycamores
For the latest information on Sycamore Women's Basketball, visit GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Fans can also receive updates on Sycamore Athletics by downloading the March On App from the both the App Store and the Google Play Store.