TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State closes an early-season two-game road trip Thursday night when it heads west to face Missouri at 8 p.m. The game will be carried on SEC Network Plus.
 

Indiana State Women's Basketball at Missouri
Date	Thursday, November 9 | 8 p.m. ET
Location // Venue	Columbia, Mo. // Mizzou Arena (15,061)
Game Notes	Indiana State Notes // Missouri Notes
Live Stats	Live Stat Feed
Watch	SEC Network+
Tickets	Tickets Starting at $8
Media Info	Indiana State Women's Basketball Media Center
Social Media	@IndStWBB // @IndStAthletics

 
Last Time Out
Forty minutes weren't enough to settle a winner Monday night between Indiana State and Northern Kentucky, but it was the visiting Sycamores who started the season 1-0 after defeating the Norse 85-82 in overtime inside Truist Arena.
 
Bella Finnegan led all scorers with 25 points, while Kiley Bess added a career-high 22 points and six rebounds in her first game as a Sycamore. Mya Glanton finished one point and one rebound shy of a double-double, while Chelsea Cain had 14 points and seven rebounds.
 
Indiana State jumped out to an early six-point lead on the strength of back-to-back triples from Finnegan, and led by as many as eight midway through the first quarter. Jumpers from Bess and Savannah White late in the second helped the Sycamores take a 35-30 lead into the locker room, but NKU used a strong second half to go up by five late in the fourth. Bess and Cain knocked down crucial shots for the Sycamores to force overtime, and Indiana State limited NKU to a 1-for-7 clip from the field in the extra period on its way to a season-opening win.
 
Road Trippin'
Thursday's game at Missouri caps a two-game road trip to begin the season for Indiana State. The Sycamores defeated Northern Kentucky in overtime 85-82 in Highland Heights to begin their season.
 
Indiana State is 11-17 in road games under Killinger, including Monday's win at NKU. Indiana State was 4-8 on the road last season.
 
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.
 
Thieves Avenue
Indiana State has had a penchant for forcing turnovers since head coach Chad Killinger took the reins of the program, as the Sycamores have become one of the nation's best when it comes to takeaways.
 
ISU forced 20 turnovers in its season opener against Northern Kentucky, and often converted those takeaways into points on the other end. The Sycamores finished Moday's win with 22 points off turnovers and 20 fastbreak points, with many of the fastbreak points coming off transition baskets created from turnovers.
 
Trees Against The Top
Thursday's game against Missouri is the third game for the Sycamores against a Power Five opponent in the Chad Killinger era.
 
The Sycamores lost to Nebraska during the 2021-22 season and Purdue during the 2022-23 season.
 
Coming Full Circle
Indiana State assistant coach Alexis Newbolt is in the midst of a full-circle moment in her first season on the sidelines in Terre Haute.
 
Newbolt played two seasons at Indiana State (2014-16), earning MVC Newcomer Week honors once during her playing career with the Blue and White. Her playing career coincided with the last time the Sycamores earned votes in the AP Top 25, which came during the 2014-15 season.
 
In addition to her playing career as a Sycamore, Newbolt also has a prior connection to head coach Chad Killinger. Newbolt played for two seasons under Killinger at Moberly Area CC (2012-14), earning NJCAA All-America honors during her time as a Greyhound.
 
Missouri at a Glance
Missouri enters Thursday's game at 1-0 after defeating Belmont in its season opener. The Tigers reached the second round of the WNIT last season after posting an 18-14 record.
 
Preseason All-SEC selection Hayley Frank and Mama Dembele led the Tigers with 15 points apiece in their win over Belmont, while Ashton Judd and Grace Slaughter each pulled down 10 rebounds.
 
Robin Pingeton enters her 14th season as the head coach at Missouri and has a record of 226-181 at the helm. The Tigers have made the NCAA Tournament four times in her tenure, most recently in 2019.
 
At least one Missouri student-athlete has familiarity with the Sycamores, as Abby Feit transferred to Mizzou after four years at Evansville.
 
Series History Against Missouri
Missouri has a 2-0 lead in the all-time series, with both previous matchups taking place in Columbia. The Sycamores and Tigers last met during the 2016-17 season.
 
Last Game Against Missouri (Nov. 22, 2016)
A 14-0 run to start for Missouri led the Tigers to their 40th consecutive non-conference win at home, a 77-48 defeat of Indiana State inside Mizzou Arena.
 
Junior forward Ashley Taia led the way for the Sycamores (2-2) with 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field Taia was the only ISU player to connect on multiple 3-pointers, finishing the game with two. Diamonisha Sophus finished her night with seven points and a team best six rebounds.
 
The Sycamores cut the Mizzou lead to eight points at 38-30, early in the third quarter as ISU opened the second half on an 11-4 run with five points coming from junior Ashley Taia and a pair of baskets from Wendi Bibbins. Mizzou answered that run with a 13-0 run of their own to close out the quarter and it was all academic from then on.
 
Up Next
Indiana State plays its first home game of the season November 15, welcoming Illinois-Springfield to Hulman Center for an 11 a.m. tip. The home opener is also the Sycamores' Education Day game, with middle school students from Vigo and Clay County slated to be in attendance.
 
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.