TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State head women's basketball coach Chad Killinger announced the addition of guard Kiley Bess to the program Wednesday.
 
"Kiley comes from a basketball family and it shows. She has an incredible work ethic, high basketball IQ and gives us another versatile player that can play a couple different positions," Killinger said. "I've known about her since my days coaching in Moberly and have always had a great deal of respect for her family. She is someone that we expect to come in and provide some leadership while giving us another shooter on the perimeter. We are excited to watch her game continue to evolve and believe her experience will enhance our ability to move our program to another level."
 
Bess, a 6-0 guard from Poplar Bluff, Missouri, comes to Terre Haute after spending the last three seasons at Saint Louis. She appeared in 34 games for the Billikens, making one start. After seeing limited playing time in the 2020-21 season as a freshman, Bess enjoyed a breakout sophomore season in 2021-22 where she averaged 6.5 points and 3.3 rebounds while making 1.4 3-pointers per game off the bench for SLU.
 
A season-ending injury in early February cut her 2021-22 campaign short, but Bess was able to return to the court to play in 10 games in the 2022-23 season for a Saint Louis team that won the A-10 Tournament and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. She had a season-high nine points and three rebounds in a road win at St. Bonaventure, knocking down 3-of-4 3-point attempts.
 
Bess' sophomore season saw her emerge as one of the top options off the bench for Saint Louis, as she averaged nearly 25 minutes per game in 16 appearances. She scored in double-figures six times for the Billikens, including a career-high 18 points in a win over Southeast Missouri State. Bess also had a career-high six rebounds in the aforementioned against SEMO, one of 13 games in the 2021-22 season where she grabbed three or more boards. She made her first career start in an overtime win over St. Bonaventure, playing a career-high 43 minutes and finishing with 11 points, five rebounds and two assists. Bess had a stretch of three straight games where she dished out multiple assists, with SLU earning wins over St. Bonaventure and VCU in that span. Her 22 3-pointers were third-most on the Saint Louis roster, despite missing the final month of the season.
 
As a freshman, Bess appeared in eight games during the 2020-21 season. She scored the first point of her career against Fordham and made appearances in two of Saint Louis' three WNIT games that season. Bess played limited minutes for a Billiken team that was 14-5 overall and 9-3 in A-10 play on their way to a postseason appearance.
 
Bess carved out a decorated high school career while at Poplar Bluff (Mo.) HS, where she finished as the school's all-time leading scorer with 2,301 points. She also owns the school's single-game scoring record with 50. Bess was an all-state selection as both a junior and senior, earned all-conference honors all four years and was a two-time conference player of the year. Poplar Bluff won the conference, district and sectional championship in her senior season, a campaign in which she was also a McDonald's All-America nominee. She was ranked as the No. 350 player in the Class of 2020 by the All-Star Girls Report.
 
In addition to all her accolades on the court, Bess comes from a family well-versed to success in athletics. Her grandfather, Gene Bess, is the all-time winningest college basketball coach with 1,300 wins at Three Rivers College and was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this year. Bess' father, Brian, is the current head coach and athletic director at Three Rivers, where he also played for two years. Her mother, Kacey (volleyball), and brother, Kolby (basketball), also played collegiately at Three Rivers.
 
Bess becomes the fourth college transfer, and second four-year college transfer, to sign with the Sycamores this season after Wisconsin transfer Savannah White and junior college transfers Deja Jones and Olivia Medford signed earlier this month. The three college transfers join four incoming freshmen who signed with Indiana State in November as part of this season's signing class.
 
Indiana State Women's Basketball 2023-24 Newcomers
Asia Donald // 5-9 // G // Hobart, Ind. // Hobart HS
Kiley Bess // 6-0 // G // Poplar Bluff, Mo. // Poplar Bluff HS/Saint Louis
Deja Jones // 5-9 // G // San Antonio, Texas // East Central HS/Cochise College
Olivia Medford // 5-11 // G // Rockville Centre, N.Y. // Long Island Lutheran HS/Monroe College
Jailah Pelly // 5-9 // G // Belleville, Ill. // O'Fallon Township HS
Keslyn Secrist // 5-10 // G // Draper, Va. // Pulaski County HS
Saige Stahl // 6-1 // F // Seymour, Ind. // Columbus East HS
Savannah White // 6-2 // G // St. Paul, Minn. // DeLaSalle HS/Wisconsin
 
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.