TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State plays its first of two home games in a four-day span Wednesday morning when it entertains Illinois-Springfield for an 11 a.m. tip. The game will be carried live on ESPN+.
 

Indiana State Women's Basketball vs. Illinois-Springfield
Date	Wednesday, November 15 | 11 a.m. ET
Location // Venue	Terre Haute, Ind. // Hulman Center (9,000)
Game Notes	Indiana State Notes // Illinois-Springfield Notes
Live Stats	Live Stat Feed
Watch	ESPN+
Tickets	Tickets Starting at $6
Media Info	Indiana State Women's Basketball Media Center
Social Media	@IndStWBB // @IndStAthletics

 
Gameday Promotions
Wednesday's game has been designated as the Sycamores' Education Day game, with more than 1,000 middle school students from Clay and Vigo Counties expected to be in attendance.
 
The Indiana Pacers Power Pack will be in attendance and will be the halftime performance.
 
Last Time Out
Asia Donald led Indiana State with 15 points Thursday night, but the Sycamores closed their two-game season opening road trip with a 98-57 loss to Missouri inside Mizzou Arena.
 
Donald also added four rebounds and two assists, while Bella Finnegan was in double-figures for the second straight game with 12 points. Mya Glanton and Chloe Williams led the Sycamores with five rebounds each.
 
Indiana State held its own in the first quarter, using a 9-2 run to get within three points of its opponent from the SEC. The Sycamores remained within two possessions early in the second quarter thanks to baskets from Donald and Finnegan, but a 17-2 run for the home side midway through broke open the game. Indiana State opened the third quarter strong with early baskets from Kiley Bess and Finnegan, while makes in quick succession from Chelsea Cain and Donald got the Trees closer, but a 21-2 run in the third quarter for Mizzou ensued, putting the game out of reach.
 
First-Timers
Indiana State's non-conference schedule features a pair of first-time opponents for the Sycamores, marking the first time since the 2021-22 season opener against Stephens College (Mo.) that the Trees will face a first-time opponent.
 
The Sycamores' home opener this season comes against a first-time opponent in the form of Illinois-Springfield. The Prairie Stars will be the first Division II opponent that Indiana State has faced since a 79-43 win over Davenport during the 2018-19 season.
 
Indiana State will face another first-time opponent on Thanksgiving Day when the Sycamores open the Puerto Rico Clasico against Radford. The last time Indiana State faced a current Big South Conference member was during the 2011-12 season, when the Sycamores defeated USC Upstate 92-64 while the Spartans were a member of the ASUN Conference.
 
Road Warriors
Indiana State picked up its first win in a road opener during the Chad Killinger era in the 2023-24 season opener when the Sycamores topped Northern Kentucky 85-82 in overtime. The Trees overcame a five-point deficit in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter to force the extra period, then held NKU to a 1-for-7 clip from the field in overtime.
 
Bella Finnegan and Kiley Bess both topped 20 points in the win for the Sycamores, with Finnegan's 25 points one off her career high and Bess' 22 points marking a career-best output in her Indiana State debut.
 
The win marked the first time since the 2018-19 season that Indiana State started the season with a win on the road. It was also the Sycamores' first overtime win since January 18, 2019.
 
Thieves Avenue
Indiana State has been one of the best teams in the MVC at forcing turnovers the past two seasons, and the Sycamores continued that trend in the opening week of the 2023-24 season. The Trees' forced 20-plus turnovers in each of their first two games, as Northern Kentucky had 20 turnovers and Missouri had 25 turnovers against the Sycamores.
 
Indiana State often converted those turnovers into points on the other end, finishing with 22 points off turnovers against NKU and 30 points off turnovers against Mizzou.
 
Home Sweet Home
Wednesday's game against Illinois-Springfield is the first of two straight for Indiana State inside the friendly confines of Hulman Center. The Sycamores also play host to Wright State Saturday afternoon.
 
Indiana State has won its home opener in each of the last three seasons, including both of its previous openers under head coach Chad Killinger (88-33 vs. Stephens College in 2021-22, 64-62 vs. Saint Louis in 2022-23)
 
Career Night
Indiana State senior guard Kiley Bess began her Sycamore career in style, playing an instrumental role in the Trees' season-opening win at Northern Kentucky.
 
Bess set career-highs of 22 points, six rebounds and five assists in her Indiana State debut, knocking down seven of her 11 attempts from the field and going 7-for-10 from the charity stripe. She also led the Sycamores in minutes played with 40.
 
Crashing The Glass
Indiana State has placed a heavy emphasis on offensive rebounds since head coach Chad Killinger arrived, and the Sycamores have consistently been among one of the better offensive rebounding teams in the conference over the last two seasons.
 
Indiana State's 2023-24 season got off to a good start on the glass, as the Sycamores outrebounded Northern Kentucky by a 46-30 margin. The Sycamores finished with 17 offensive rebounds, turning those extra opportunities into 12 second-chance points.
 
Illinois-Springfield at a Glance
Illinois-Springfield enters Wednesday's game at 2-0 following wins over Tiffin and Hillsdale. Wednesday's game will serve as an exhibition for the Prairie Stars, with the contest not counting in the win-loss column for UIS.
 
The two wins for UIS this season already represent half of its 2022-23 win total, as the Prairie Stars went 4-24 last year, which was head coach Summer Quesenberry's first at the helm.
 
Illinois-Springfield is sporting nearly an entire new roster this season. 17 of the 20 players listed on the 2023-24 roster are newcomers this season.
 
Jessenia Lawson leads UIS in scoring through the first two games at 21.0 points pper game, while Liz Uhl averages 17 points and a team-high 5.5 rebounds per game. Lawson also leads the Prairie Stars with 4.5 assists per game.
 
Series History Against Illinois-Springfield
Indiana State and Illinois-Springfield have never met in the regular season.
 
Last Game Against Illinois-Springfield (Nov. 5, 2017 - exhibition)
Indiana State women's basketball closed out its exhibition slate with a 72-46 victory over Illinois-Springfield inside the Hulman Center. Wendi Bibbins led the charge for the Sycamores with her second double-digit scoring game in-a-row after putting up a game high 18 points and 13 rebounds.
 
Tierra Webb finished with 11 points while Kierra Isaiah scored 10 in her Hulman Center debut. Ashli O'Neal finished with six points and a team best four assists.
 
Defense was the storyline for the Sycamores, who forced UIS into 16 first-half turnovers on their way to a 31-17 lead into the locker room. Illinois-Springfield cut the Sycamore lead to 11 early in the fourth before a 10-0 Indiana State run put the game out of reach.
 
Up Next
Indiana State closes its two-game homestand Saturday afternoon against Wright State, with tipoff slated for 1 p.m.
 
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.