CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Indiana State gave preseason conference favorite Northern Iowa everything it could handle Saturday afternoon, but the Panthers outlasted the Sycamores 85-79 in a high-scoring battle inside McLeod Center.
 
Chelsea Cain led the way for the Sycamores with 18 points and six assists, while Mya Glanton tied her season high of 17 points and added six rebounds. Bella Finnegan was also in double-figures for the Trees with 11, while Ella Sawyer had seven points matched her career high of eight assists.
 
Indiana State opened the game on a 7-0 run and shot 60 percent from the field in the opening quarter. The Sycamores were efficient from distance in the opening 20 minutes, where they were 7-for-10 from behind the arc. Northern Iowa kept pace, though, and took a two-point lead into halftime. The Sycamores were neck-and-neck throughout the second half, but the home side took advantage of 26 free throw attempts in the second half to narrowly defeat a scrappy Sycamore team.
  
First Half
Indiana State jumped out to a quick start, as Glanton opened with a jumper and Finnegan immediately added a three-ball from the wing. The Sycamores pushed their lead to seven following a layup from Cain in transition and a pair of free throws from Glanton, but Northern Iowa went on a run of its own to get within a point of the Trees. Keslyn Secrist and Asia Donald got in on the scoring midway through, with the latter knocking down a trey to give the Sycamores a 19-14 advantage. Sawyer added another 3-pointer to make it 22-16, but consecutive 3-pointers from the home side late saw the teams deadlocked at 24 through one quarter.
 
Donald and Finnegan started the second quarter with 3-pointers, as the Sycamores continued to keep pace with the preseason favorites. Savannah White added a midrange jumper midway through, and Cain evened the score at 35-all with a triple from the top of the key. UNI used a 6-0 run to go in front, but Kiley Bess and Secrist both converted from the free throw line and Deja Jones nailed a 3-pointer from the corner to pull the Sycamores within a pair, 44-42, at the intermission.
 
Second Half
Glanton immediately went to work down low to begin the second half with a pair of layups, but a 7-0 run for the Panthers saw Indiana State facing a 55-46 deficit. The Sycamores clawed their way back, though, as Finnegan connected on a 3-pointer and Cain scored four straight points to get the Trees' deficit down to four, 59-55. Layups from Leah Yarbrough and Sawyer cut it to a one-possession game late in the quarter. Cain added a basket right before the buzzer, as the Sycamores entered the fourth down 68-64.
 
Layups from Yarbrough and Cain to begin the fourth quarter cut the deficit back down to one possession, and Finnegan added a midrange jumper to knot the score at 70. A 6-1 Panther run saw the Sycamores go down 76-71, but a layup from Cain and a 3-pointer from Bess got the Sycamores back within a pair. Glanton added a 3-pointer from the corner inside the final minute, but Northern Iowa survived a gutsy effort from the Sycamores, 85-79.
 
News and Notes

• Indiana State's 10 3-pointers tied a season-high, while the Sycamores' 52.6 percent mark from distance (10-for-19) represented a season-best clip.
• The Sycamores were 13-for-16 from the free throw line (81.3 percent) Saturday, but the free throw disparity was stark. Northern Iowa went to the line 19 times in the third quarter alone.
• All 14 players who were active for Indiana State appeared in the game, while 11 of the 14 scored.
• Indiana State shot a season-best 49.1 percent (28-for-57) from the field Saturday.
• Ella Sawyer's eight assists were her most in a Sycamores uniform and also matched her career high that was set while at Austin Peay.
• Mya Glanton's 3-pointer in the fourth quarter was the first of her career.
• Saturday's game concluded a five-game road trip for the Sycamores which began Dec. 17. Indiana State's last home game was Dec. 10.

 
Up Next
Indiana State plays its first home game in over a month Thursday evening when it faces Murray State at 6 p.m.
 
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