TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State begins a stretch of six home games in an eight-game span Friday evening when it faces in-state foe Valparaiso at 6 p.m. inside Hulman Center.
The game will be carried on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
Last Time Out
Chelsea Cain led a balanced scoring effort with 16 points Sunday afternoon, but a strong-shooting second half propelled Missouri State past the Sycamores 89-71 inside Great Southern Bank Arena.
Indiana State finished with five players in double-figures, as
Bella Finnegan tallied 14,
Kiley Bess and
Ella Sawyer had 12 each and
Mya Glanton finished with 10. Glanton finished one rebound shy of a double-double, while Cain and Sawyer also dished out four assists apiece.
The Sycamores used a strong-shooting opening half to lead for a majority of the first 20 minutes, led by eight first-quarter points from Sawyer and eight in the second quarter from Glanton. Indiana State's advantage lasted through the midway point of the third quarter, but a cold spell to end the quarter saw the Trees trail by nine with 10 minutes to go. A 15-2 Missouri State run to start the fourth quarter put the game out of reach for the Sycamores.
Hitting From Distance
Indiana State guard
Bella Finnegan has found her stroke from behind the arc since the calendar flipped to conference play. Finnegan is connecting on 47.1 percent of her 3-point attempts against MVC foes this season, going 16-for-34 from behind the arc.
Finnegan's numbers over the last five games are even better, as she has hit on 14 of her 27 attempts from distance during that span (51.9 percent).
Sharp-Shooting Sycamores
Indiana State has started to find increased success on the offensive end in recent games, as the Sycamores have shot better than 40 percent from the field in each of the last three contests. The Trees have also shot better than 50 percent from 3-point range in each of the last two games.
As a team, Indiana State has shot 41.5 percent from the field over its last five games, while shooting 39.7 percent from behind the arc during that span. Indiana State's scoring has also been a balanced effort, with four of the Sycamores' five regular starters averaging double-digit scoring this season.
Record-Setting Swats
Indiana State tied a program single-game record with 10 blocked shots in its 64-63 win over Southern Illinois. The last time the Sycamores had 10 blocked shots prior was Dec. 16, 2019 against Northern Kentucky.
In addition,
Savannah White matched the program single-game record with seven blocked shots against Southern Illinois. White tied Shannon Thomas, the program's all-time blocks leader, while her seven rejections were the most by an MVC athlete this season.
White jumped into the top five in the MVC in blocks per game following her record-setting night against Southern Illinois. She is currently second in the conference with 1.9 blocks per game against MVC foes.
No Fly Zone
Indiana State's 3-point defense has been on a new level since the start of conference play, with MVC foes struggling behind the arc against the Sycamores. Through the first five games of the conference schedule, Indiana State's opponents have made just 32 of their 133 3-point attempts, equating to a 24.1 percent mark from distance.
The Sycamores are currently the only team in the MVC to hold conference opponents below 25 percent from 3-point range, with four of Indiana State's first seven conference foes shooting below 20 percent on 3-point attempts.
Milestone Moments
A pair of Indiana State players reached career milestones during the Sycamores' most recent homestand, as
Mya Glanton reached the 500-rebound mark for her career and
Chelsea Cain scored her 500th point at Indiana State.
Glanton became the 22nd player in program history to reach 500 rebounds for her career, and pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds last week against Murray State. Cain's 500 points at Indiana State came in 44 games, with the senior forward averaging double-digit scoring in each of her two seasons as a Sycamore.
Rebound Machine
Mya Glanton's 18 rebounds against Murray State represented a career-high and the fourth-highest single-game rebounding mark in Indiana State history. 10 of Glanton's 18 rebounds came on the offensive glass, the most for any MVC athlete in a game this season.
Glanton leads Indiana State with 8.2 rebounds per game, including 3.8 offensive rebounds per game. She ranks second in the MVC in offensive rebounds and fifth in rebounds per game.
Valparaiso at a Glance
Valparaiso enters the weekend at 2-14 overall and 1-6 in conference play. The Beacons picked up their first MVC win of the season in their last game, defeating Bradley 79-55 to snap an eight-game skid. Valpo remains in search of its first road win of the 2023-24 season.
Leah Earnest leads the Beacons with 14.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, while Olivia Brown is also averaging double-digit scoring at 11.3 points per game. All five starters for Valpo average at least five points per game, while Raeven Raye-Redmond and Saniya Jackson both average more than two steals per game.
Mary Evans is in her sixth season as the head coach at Valparaiso and owns a 57-105 record at the helm of the Beacons. Evans is 5-4 in her head coaching career against Indiana State.
Series History Against Valparaiso
Indiana State owns a 10-7 advantage in the all-time series, though the Sycamores and Beacons have split the season series each of the last two seasons. The road team has won each of the last four meetings.
Last Meeting Against Missouri State (Feb. 17, 2023)
Indiana State was unable to get in a rhythm on the offensive end, as the Sycamores dropped a 54-47 decision to visiting Valparaiso inside Hulman Center.
Chelsea Cain led the Sycamores with 12 points, while
Del'Janae Williams added 10 for the Blue and White.
Mya Glanton and
Bella Finnegan grabbed a team-leading six rebounds each.
Indiana State trailed for most of the second half, but managed to get within two early in the fourth quarter following an
Anna McKendree fastbreak layup. The Sycamores went on a scoring drought of more than five minutes following that basket, though, which proved to be the difference as Valpo went on a 10-0 run during that span. Despite a pair of late baskets, Indiana State's struggles were too much to overcome.
Up Next
Indiana State continues its three-game homestand Sunday afternoon against UIC, with tipoff slated for 1 p.m.
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