MOLINE, Ill. – Marie Hunter, Natalia Lalic and Tonysha Curry all scored in double-figures Friday afternoon, but a 26-point second quarter helped send top-seeded Southern Illinois past eighth-seeded Indiana State in the quarterfinals of Hoops in the Heartland, 77-61, at the TaxSlayer Center.
 
Hunter led the Sycamores with 15, while Lalic and Curry had 10 points apiece. Del'Janae Williams added eight points, four rebounds and four assists.
 
After a back-and-forth first quarter, Southern Illinois broke a 19-all deadlock with a 13-0 run and never looked back. Indiana State got within 11 on multiple occasions in the second half, but could never cut the deficit to single-digits, as the Salukis attacked the paint and the free throw line to advance past the Sycamores.
 
First Half
Mya Glanton picked up where she left off in Thursday's opening round game, scoring Indiana State's first basket in an evenly-matched opening quarter. The Salukis never led by more than two scores in the first 10 minutes, with consecutive baskets by Glanton and Hunter late in the quarter making it an 11-10 ballgame. Hunter also scored the final basket in the quarter, using a spin move down low to score a layup an make it a 17-14 Sycamore deficit after the opening period.
 
Indiana State used an early 5-0 run in the second quarter to tie the score at 19-apiece, as Anna McKendree hit a 3-pointer from NBA range and Marie Hunter scored on a midrange jumper. From there, though, Southern Illinois seized control, as the Sycamores went nearly four minutes without a point to find themselves in a double-digit deficit. Lalic and Hunter scored on back-to-back possessions to close the quarter, but Indiana State entered the halftime break in a 43-32 hole.
 
Second Half
Southern Illinois' lead continued to swell early in the third quarter, as the Sycamores couldn't get in an offensive rhythm. The Salukis' first 14 points in the quarter all came either in the paint or at the free throw line, as Indiana State couldn't stop SIU's post presence. Indiana State closed the quarter on a 6-2 run, with McKendree scoring half of the Sycamore points during the span, but still found itself down 59-48 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Williams hit a 3-pointer to start the Sycamore scoring in the fourth quarter, but SIU continued to tack onto its lead by going down low. Hunter scored five straight Indiana State points midway through the final period on a 3-pointer from the wing and a layup, but Southern Illinois had an answer for every Sycamore run. Despite Curry scoring two of the last three baskets in the game, Indiana State's season came to a close Friday as Southern Illinois advanced past the Sycamores, 77-61.
 
Inside the Statistics

• Indiana State shot better than 50 percent from the floor in both conference tournament games. The Sycamores were 26-for-50 (52.0 percent) from the field and 6-for-12 (50 percent) from beyond the arc Friday.
• Indiana State's 19 bench points were its most in a game since also scoring 19 against Valparaiso (Feb. 20).

 
News & Notes

• Indiana State ends the 2021-22 season, Chad Killinger's first at the helm, at 11-20 overall.
• Friday's game marked the last in a Sycamore uniform for Marie Hunter, Tonysha Curry and Essy Latu.

  
Postgame Press Conference (Head Coach Chad Killinger, Marie Hunter, Natalia Lalic)

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