TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State opens Missouri Valley Conference play with an in-state foe Saturday night, as the Sycamores travel to Evansville for a 7 p.m. tip.
Saturday's game will be carried on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
Last Time Out
Six Indiana State players tallied six or more points, but a strong second half from Purdue sent the Boilermakers past the Sycamores, 79-63, inside Mackey Arena.
Bella Finnegan and
Keslyn Secrist led the Sycamores in scoring with 12 points apiece, while
Mya Glanton corralled a team-leading six rebounds.
Ella Sawyer and
Lily Niebuhr dished out three assists each, while Sawyer also recorded three steals for the Blue and White.
Purdue opened the game on a 10-0 run, but Indiana State battled back with strong shooting in the first half. The Sycamores knocked down 50 percent of their attempts from the field in the opening 20 minutes and kept the game within two possessions at the half, but Purdue outscored the Trees 26-12 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. Despite a strong fourth quarter for the Blue and White, Indiana State dropped its second straight game.
Youth Movement
Indiana State's roster features a lot of underclassmen, and that was fully on display in the Sycamores' non-conference finale at Purdue. Two-thirds of Indiana State's points against the Boilermakers were scored by freshmen or sophomores, and both of the Sycamores' double-digit scorers at Mackey Arena were underclassmen.
All five of Indiana State's made 3-pointers came from underclassmen, with three freshmen and three sophomores seeing the floor for the Sycamores. Five of the six underclassmen who played in the game against Purdue logged double-digit minutes.
Road Trippin'
Indiana State starts conference play on the road for the fifth time in the last six years, and the Sycamores open MVC play with five of their first seven away from home. The Trees open their conference slate with road games at Evansville, Drake and Northern Iowa before finally playing home games Jan. 11 against Murray State and Jan. 14 against Belmont.
Indiana State will also visit Southern Illinois and Missouri State in late January to close their stretch of five road games in its first seven MVC contests. Four of Indiana State's six conference wins last season came on the road, including a weekend sweep at UIC and Valparaiso in their opening conference road stretch of the 2022-23 campaign.
On The Road Again
Indiana State is in the midst of a five-game road trip, which started Sunday at Ohio. During the stretch away from home, the Sycamores also face Purdue and open conference play with road games at Evansville, Drake and Northern Iowa.
Three of Indiana State's four wins this season have come away from home (two road, one neutral site), while the Sycamores have averaged nearly 70 points per game in their first four road games this season.
Crashing The Glass
Indiana State has been one of the best rebounding teams in the MVC this season, as the Sycamores are the only team in the conference to rank in the top three in offensive rebounds (first, 14.4), total rebounds (third, 40.4) and rebound margin (second, plus-4.9).
The Sycamores' rebounding has been a balanced effort, as seven different players average three or more rebounds per game for the Trees.
Mya Glanton leads the way with 8.0 rebounds per game and is one of five players in the nation to appear in nine or more games and have multiple offensive rebounds in every game.
Magic Numbers
Indiana State has been tough to beat when scoring 70 or more points under
Chad Killinger. The Sycamores have scored 70-plus points 18 times under Killinger and are 15-3 in those games. Included in that mark is an 8-0 record when scoring 80 or more points. Indiana State has won those eight games by an average of 19 points.
The Sycamores have also been hard to beat when their opponents fail to put up high point totals. Indiana State is 14-4 over the last two seasons when allowing fewer than 60 points, including a 4-0 mark in games where the Trees allowed less than 50 points and a 2-0 mark this season. All of Indiana State's wins when allowing less than 50 points have come by double-digits.
Two of Indiana State's four wins this season have come when scoring 70-plus points (82 at Northern Kentucky, 73 at Central Michigan), while the Sycamores' other two wins have come when opponents have scored less than 60 points (Radford – 52, Southeast Missouri State – 57).
Evansville at a Glance
Evansville enters Saturday's game with a 2-9 record. The Purple Aces' wins have come over Chicago State and Lindenwood. Indiana State and Evansville had one common non-conference opponent in Southeast Missouri State (Indiana State won on Dec. 10 65-57, Evansville lost on Dec. 21 74-44).
Kynidi Mason Striverson leads the Purple Aces in scoring at 15.8 points per game and also dishes out 4.1 assists per game. Maggie Hartwig nearly averages a double-double with 11.4 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Five different Evansville players average at least eight points per game.
Robyn Scherr-Wells is in her third season at the helm of the Purple Aces and has a record of 21-50 at Evansville. Scherr-Wells has previous head coaching experience at Roosevelt and Davenport.
Series History Against Evansville
Indiana State owns a commanding 42-22 lead in the all-time series and is 17-13 in Evansville. Evansville won both meetings last season, while Indiana State's last win in the series came in the 2022 MVC Tournament.
Last Meeting Against Evansville (Feb. 1, 2023)
Indiana State was unable to sustain its strong start, as the Sycamores fell to visiting Evansville 68-66 inside Hulman Center.
Bella Finnegan led the Trees with a career-high 17 points, all of which came in the second half.
Del'Janae Williams and
Anna McKendree finished with 14 points apiece, while
Chelsea Cain added eight points and eight rebounds.
Indiana State quickly jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter and led 24-10 after the opening 10 minutes. Evansville rallied back to take the lead in the third quarter, though, as Indiana State's strong start fizzled. The Sycamores retook the lead midway through the fourth but a late run for the visitors was enough for them to prevail.
Up Next
Indiana State begins 2024 on the road with a January 4 contest at Drake.
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