TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State plays its first road game of the 2024-25 season Thursday night when it travels to Ames, Iowa to face No. 8/9 Iowa State inside Hilton Coliseum.
Thursday's game will tip at 7:30 p.m. and will be carried on ESPN+ with Zach Carlyle (play-by-play), Chelsea Poppens (analyst) and Marijke Mendeszoon (reporter) on the call.
Last Time Out
Keslyn Secrist paced Indiana State with career-highs of 21 points and five rebounds Monday night, but visiting Western Kentucky stifled the Sycamores in the second half in a 71-59 defeat for the home side inside Hulman Center.
Mia Simpson and
Chloe Williams tallied nine points each, with Williams also adding a career-high seven rebounds.
Savannah White added a career-high eight points for the Sycamores, while
Deja Jones dished out a game and career-high six assists.
Indiana State used a fast pace to jump out to an early lead, with Secrist catching fire from behind the arc en route to 14 first-half points. The Trees led 22-17 after the opening quarter and shot 62.5 percent from the field in the first half as the teams went to the locker room deadlocked. Western Kentucky's pressure intensified as the game went on, though, and the Lady Toppers outscored Indiana State 34-22 in the second half, largely off a pair of scoring runs in each of the last two quarters, to spoil the Sycamores' season opener.
A New Era
Indiana State begins the 2024-25 season with a new leader at the helm, as
Marc Mitchell begins his first season as the Sycamores' head coach. Mitchell spent the last two seasons as the head coach at UIndy and has previous head coaching experience at Saint Peter's and FDU-Florham, winning the 2014 NCAA Division III National Championship after leading FDU-Florham to a perfect 33-0 season.
Indiana State also brings in an entirely new coaching staff, with
Jason Pruitt (Elmhurst),
Krystle Evans (UC Santa Barbara) and
Ashley Yu (UIndy) join Mitchell's staff in his first season in Terre Haute. Mitchell also brought over one of his former players in
Jada Haines as a graduate assistant, with graduate assistant
Donald Metoyer Jr. being the lone holdover from last year's staff.
Dropping Dimes
Indiana State senior guard
Deja Jones made her first career start for the Sycamores one to remember, as she set a career high with six assists against Western Kentucky. Jones accounted for two-thirds of the Sycamores' assists in the season opener.
Jones also added six points against WKU, her most in an Indiana State uniform, and pulled down four rebounds, her second-highest total during her time as a Sycamore.
Sharp-Shooting Secrist
Indiana State sophomore guard
Keslyn Secrist had a game to remember in the Sycamores' season opener against Western Kentucky, finishing with a career-high 21 points to lead the Trees against the Lady Toppers.
Secrist was an efficient 8-for 13 (61.5 percent) from the field, including a 4-for-7 (57.1 percent) mark from behind the arc. In addition, she also added a career-high five rebounds while playing a team-high 33 minutes.
Creating Havoc
Indiana State's intensity was on full display in Monday's season opener, as the Sycamores forced Western Kentucky into 22 turnovers. The Trees took advantage of those miscues, turning them into 18 points on the other end.
The Sycamores generated 11 steals in Monday's opener, a figure that is higher than Indiana State's steals average from each of the last two seasons.
Chloe Williams recorded a team-high four steals against Western Kentucky.
Second Chances
Indiana State was able to extend possessions in Monday's opener by crashing the glass, as the Sycamores pulled down 11 offensive rebounds against Western Kentucky. The Trees have been among the conference leaders in offensive rebounding in recent years, averaging more than 11 offensive boards per game in each of the last three seasons.
The Sycamores converted their offensive boards in Monday's game into 11 second chance points after averaging 10.0 second chance points per game during the 2023-24 season.
Starting Off Strong
Indiana State put together an efficient shooting performance in the first half of Monday's season opener against Western Kentucky, shooting 50 percent or better in each of the first two quarters against the Lady Toppers.
The Sycamores were 9-for-12 (75 percent) from the floor in the first quarter, while going 6-for-12 (50 percent) in the second quarter. For the half, Indiana State finished at 62.5 percent from the field (15-for-24), and the Sycamores were 3-for-5 from behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes.
Iowa State At A Glance
Iowa State is 1-0 following a 96-56 win over Chicago State in its season opener, a game which the Cyclones started on a 29-0 run. The Cyclones were ranked No. 8 in the AP Poll and No. 9 in the Coaches Poll.
2024 Honorable Mention All-American Audi Crooks leads the way for the Cyclones after averaging 19.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game last season. Addy Brown had a team-high 20 points and nine rebounds in the season opener, while Iowa State knocked down 10 3-pointers as a team against Chicago State.
Bill Fennelly is in his 30th season as the head coach at Iowa State and has amassed more than 600 wins as the Cyclones' head coach. Iowa State has reached the NCAA Tournament 22 times in Fennelly's tenure, including Elite Eight appearances in 1999 and 2009.
Series History Against Iowa State
Thursday's game is the first between Indiana State and Iowa State on the hardwood.
Last Meeting Against Iowa State
Indiana State and Iowa State have never previously met.
Up Next
Indiana State closes a two-game road trip Tuesday night at Wright State, with tipoff from Dayton set for 7 p.m.
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
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Instagram and
YouTube. Fans can also receive updates on Sycamore Athletics by downloading the March On App from the both the
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