TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State opens Missouri Valley Conference play Sunday afternoon when it welcomes Northern Iowa to Hulman Center for a 2 p.m. tip.
Sunday's game will carried on ESPN+ with Kelsie Kasper (play-by-play) and Adrian Madrid (analyst) on the call. The game will also be carried on WFNB The Fanbase (99.5 FM and 106.9 FM) with John Sherman on the call.
Last Time Out
Saige Stahl tallied a career-high 16 points as part of her fourth double-double of the season, but Purdue's offense was too much for Indiana State to overcome in an 87-68 loss for the Sycamores inside Mackey Arena.
Stahl also led the Trees with a game-high 13 rebounds, while
Bella Finnegan added a season-high and game-high 22 points off the bench.
Deja Jones and
Chloe Williams were both in double-figures with 10 points apiece.
Indiana State kept things close early on thanks to six points from Stahl in the first quarter, but Purdue shot better than 50 percent from the field in the first half to build a double-digit lead. Finnegan caught fire with 10 points in the third quarter and Indiana State shot the ball well from distance in the fourth, but the early hole proved costly for the Sycamores in defeat.
Home Sweet Home
Indiana State opens Missouri Valley Conference play at home Sunday, marking the end of one of the longest road trips in Division I this season.
Prior to Sunday's game, the Sycamores went more than six weeks without a home game. Indiana State's last home game prior to the conference opener was November 15. The 45-day stretch between home games was the second-longest span between home games among all Division I schools this season.
Heating Up
Indiana State's offense has started to find a rhythm in recent games, with the Sycamores averaging 69 points per game over their last five games and 72.7 points per game over the last three. Both of those figures are stark improvements from the Trees' season average of 63.0 points per game.
Indiana State has picked up the pace in the second half of its last two games, with the Sycamores scoring 40-plus points in the second half against both Eastern Kentucky and Purdue. The Sycamores have scored at least 35 points in a half in each of the last six games, including a trio of 40-point halves in that span.
Back In Business
Sycamore sophomore forward
Saige Stahl has made her presence felt since returning to the starting lineup in the Sycamores' game at Eastern Illinois. Stahl has averaged 12.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game since her return to the rotation, including a pair of double-doubles in that span.
Stahl has scored in double-figures in three of the last four games, including a career-high 16 points in the Sycamores' non-conference finale at Purdue. She also has pulled down double-digit rebounds in two games during that span, recording double-doubles against both Northern Illinois (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Purdue (16 points, 13 rebounds).
Stahl is nearly averaging a double-double this season with 9.7 points and a team-leading 9.0 rebounds per game, with her 9.0 rebounds and 4.1 offensive rebounds per game both ranking in the top three in the conference. She leads the team in field goal percentage, knocking down 55.6 percent of her attempts from the field and shooting better than 50 percent from the field in eight of the first 10 games. Stahl has also gotten to the free throw line a team-leading 40 times, knocking down 90 percent of her attempts from the charity stripe.
Welcome Back
Indiana State guard
Bella Finnegan has made a major impression in her return to the Sycamore lineup, leading Indiana State in scoring at 16.3 points per game since she made her season debut.
Finnegan made her 2024-25 season debut at the Eastern Kentucky MTE, averaging 13.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game across the Sycamores' two games in Lexington. The junior sharpshooter led all players with 22 points in Indiana State's non-conference finale at Purdue, knocking down a career-high six 3-pointers against the Boilermakers.
Finnegan led Sycamore returners with 9.6 points per game last season and has averaged 9.0 points per game for her career. She is the lone returning starter from the 2023-24 Sycamore lineup.
Attack The Line
Indiana State finds itself among the national leaders when it comes to getting to the free throw line this season. The Sycamores are 41st nationally with 20.4 free throw attempts per game, while the Trees' 15.0 free throws made per game ranks 24th in Division I. Indiana State has had the advantage from the free throw line in eight of the first 11 games this season.
The Sycamores have shot 73.7 percent from the line this season, a mark which ranks in the top half of the MVC and in the top 100 nationally. That number rose to 77.4 percent during the Sycamores' seven-game stretch away from home. Indiana State has made 20-plus free throws in three games this season, while shooting 77 percent or better from the charity stripe in six of the last seven contests.
The Trees had their best performance from the line in their game at Eastern Illinois, going 22-for-27 (81.5 percent) on free throw attempts against the Panthers. Indiana State also had 20-plus free throws against both Southeast Missouri State and Austin Peay. The Sycamores shot a season-high 90.9 percent from the charity stripe in their last game at Purdue, going 10-for-11 from the line against the Boilermakers.
Northern Iowa At A Glance
Northern Iowa enters conference play with a 5-6 record, including marquee wins over Iowa State and Pitt. The Panthers' win over Iowa State was their first over a top-10 opponent in program history.
First team all-conference honoree Maya McDermott paces the Panthers with a conference-leading 22.6 points and 4.8 assists per game, with Kayba Laube averaging 14.9 points per game while shooting better than 50 percent from 3-point range. Rylee Goebel adds 9.3 points per game and leads UNI in rebounds (6.1) steals (2.7) and blocks (2.5), ranking in the top five in the MVC in steals and blocks.
Tanya Warren is in her 18th season as head coach at Northern Iowa and has built the Panthers into one of the MVC's premier programs. Warren has a 327-233 career record with 13 postseason appearances at UNI.
Series History Against Northern Iowa
Indiana State is 42-42 all-time against Northern Iowa, though the Panthers have won the last seven in the series. The Sycamores have a 24-17 advantage in games played in Terre Haute.
Indiana State's last win in the series came in the 2019-20 season, a 65-63 win in Terre Haute.
Last Meeting Against Northern Iowa (March 7, 2024)
Mya Glanton registered her sixth double-double of the season, but visiting Northern Iowa shot better than 50 percent from the field and held Indiana State below 30 percent in a 91-62 win over the Sycamores inside Hulman Center.
Glanton finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Sycamores, while
Bella Finnegan,
Keslyn Secrist and
Asia Donald had eight points each.
Jailah Pelly and
Saige Stahl had career-highs of six and five points, respectively.
Indiana State got off to a good start courtesy of a pair of Finnegan 3-pointers as part of a 10-2 run, but Northern Iowa worked its way back. The Panthers cut Indiana State's lead to a point by the end of the first quarter, then began the second on a 10-3 run and never looked back. Northern Iowa shot better than 50 percent from the field in each of the last three quarters and better than 60 percent in both the second and fourth on their way to a lopsided win over the Sycamores.
Up Next
Indiana State rings in the new year on the road with games at Illinois State (Thursday) and Bradley (Jan. 5).
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