MOLINE, Ill. – Indiana State rallied from a double-digit deficit to take a late lead Thursday night in the opening round of Hoops in the Heartland, but the Sycamores' hard-fought effort came up just short in an 81-79 loss to Southern Illinois.
 
Del'Janae Williams led all players with 27 points and eight assists, while Anna McKendree had a career-high 25 points and seven 3-pointers. Chelsea Cain was also in double-figures for the Sycamores with 14 points and finished one rebound shy of a double-double.
 
In a game full of runs, Indiana State jumped out to a nine-point lead thanks to Williams and McKendree. SIU responded and took a lead going into halftime, but the Sycamores answered back, with Cain converting a three-point play to give ISU the lead in the third quarter. SIU's pressure saw the Sycamores trail by 12 midway through the fourth, but a 15-2 run capped by a Williams 3-pointer put the Trees in front 79-78 inside the last minute. A late foul call with 10 seconds left allowed SIU to take the lead and, eventually, hang on to advance.
 
First Half
Indiana State got out to a slow start, as the Sycamores found themselves down 14-4 in the first quarter. The Trees responded, though, with a Caitlin Anderson fastbreak basket starting a 12-2 run for the Blue and White to close the quarter. McKendree and Williams combined to score the last seven points of the quarter, with a transition layup from Williams leveling the score at 16-all heading to the second.
 
Williams continued her strong start into the second with the first five points of the quarter. McKendree followed with a pair of 3-pointers as Indiana State took a 27-18 lead. Southern Illinois went on a run of its own to tie the score once again, only to have Williams give Indiana State the lead with a jumper in the paint. The Salukis closed the half strong, though, and took a 39-33 lead into the intermission.
 
Second Half
Back-to-back baskets from Anderson and Williams helped the Sycamores claw their way back early in the third, with 3-pointers from both Williams and McKendree cutting Indiana State's deficit to one at 44-43. A 3-pointer from McKendree, followed by a Hattie Westerfeld basket, gave Indiana State its largest lead of the second half at 53-49 with three minutes left in the third. Mya Glanton added a late second-chance basket, as the Trees took a slim 55-54 lead to the fourth.
 
Similar to the previous meetings this season, SIU's pressure intensified in the final frame, and the Salukis took advantage of that in building a double-digit lead. This time, however, the Sycamores came roaring back. Down by 12 with four minutes left, Williams started a 15-2 run for the Trees with a jumper, which was followed by free throws by Cain and another McKendree 3-pointer. Indiana State rattled off 11 straight points starting with the McKendree three-ball, with Williams and Cain scoring back-to-back buckets to make it a one-possession game. A Williams 3-pointer from the top of the key gave Indiana State the lead with less than 30 seconds left before SIU won it at the free throw line off a foul inside the last 10 seconds.
 
Inside the Numbers

• Caitlin Anderson (plus-22) and Hattie Westerfeld (plus-21) had the highest plus-minus numbers of any player on either team.
• Indiana State had three of the top five scorers in the game in Del'Janae Williams (27), Anna McKendree (25) and Chelsea Cain (14).
• Indiana State scored 46 points in the second half, going 17-for-28 from the field (60.7 percent) and 6-for-8 from 3-point range (75 percent).

 
News & Notes

• Indiana State closes the 2022-23 season, its second under head coach Chad Killinger, at 11-19 overall and 6-14 in MVC play.
• Del'Janae Williams moved into a tie for 22nd in program history with 1,112 career points. 804 of those points have come in the last two seasons.
• Indiana State's 17 assists were the Sycamores' most in an MVC tournament game since the conference tournament moved to Moline.

 
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