TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State opens a three-game homestand Thursday evening when it welcomes Missouri State to Hulman Center for a 6 p.m. tip.
 
The game will be carried on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 

Indiana State Women's Basketball vs. Missouri State
Date	Thursday, February 15 | 6 p.m. ET
Location // Venue	Terre Haute, Ind. // Hulman Center (9,000)
Game Notes	Indiana State Notes // Missouri State Notes
Live Stats	Live Stats Link
Watch	ESPN+
Listen	Indiana State Radio / 105.5 The Legend
Tickets	Tickets Starting at $6
Media Info	Indiana State Women's Basketball Media Center
Social Media	@IndStWBB // @IndStAthletics

 
Gameday Promotions
Ella Sawyer will be presented with the Brenda Howell Spirit Award prior to Thursday's game. The award is given annually to an Indiana State women's basketball student-athlete who best personifies the traits of spirit, determination and positive attitude.
 
US Lawns is the presenting sponsor for Thursday's game. For more information on our gameday sponsor, click HERE.
 
Last Time Out
Ella Sawyer registered the first double-double of her career Sunday afternoon, but UIC used a strong fourth quarter to defeat visiting Indiana State 68-53 inside Credit Union 1 Arena.
 
Sawyer scored 13 points, her most in a Sycamore uniform, and pulled down a career and game-high 12 rebounds. Bella Finnegan added 12 points for the Trees, while Kiley Bess had nine.
 
Indiana State took an early five-point lead following layups from Chelsea Cain and Lily Niebuhr, but a slow start to the second quarter saw the Sycamores fall behind. The Trees picked up the pace late in the quarter with 3-pointers from Bess and Finnegan, and put together a strong third quarter to even the score following a late three-ball from Finnegan. Indiana State's offense went cold in the fourth, though, as UIC outscored the Sycamores 20-5 over the last 10 minutes to pull away late.
 
Double Vision
Indiana State guard Ella Sawyer registered the first double-double of her collegiate career in the Sycamores' most recent game against UIC. Sawyer had 13 points, her most in an ISU uniform, to go alongside a career-high 12 rebounds against the Flames.
 
Sawyer's numbers have seen an uptick since the start of conference play, where she has averaged 7.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. Four of her six double-digit scoring games this season have come against MVC foes.
 
Home Sweet Home
Indiana State is currently in a stretch that sees the Sycamores play six home games in an eight-game span. The Trees' most recent two-game road trip was sandwiched in between a pair of three-game homestands.
 
The Sycamores are looking to build on their home record, having won just two contests inside Hulman Center this season.
 
Thievery
Indiana State guard Kiley Bess notched a career-high six steals in the Sycamores' road win at Valparaiso, accounting for 60 percent of ISU's swipes in the game.
 
Bess' six steals were also the most by a Sycamore in a game this season. Indiana State finished with 10 steals against Valparaiso.
 
Honoring A Legend
Indiana State retired the No. 20 of Barbara Graves during Indiana State's most recent homestand. Graves becomes the third player in program history, alongside Melanie Boeglin and Amy Hile, to have her jersey retired.
 
Graves, who played for the Sycamores from 1979-83, ranks among the top five in program history in points (1,498), rebounds (898) and steals (315).
 
Missouri State at a Glance
Missouri State enters the weekend at 15-6 overall and 9-3 in conference play. The Lady Bears had their 13-game home win streak, which dated back to last season, snapped in their last game against Murray State.
 
Lacy Stokes leads the Lady Bears in scoring at 10.8 points per game, with six different players averaging eight or more points for Missouri State. Stokes also leads the team in assists at 4.8 per game and steals at 1.9 per game, while Kennedy Taylor averages a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game.
 
Beth Cunningham is in her second season as the head coach at Missouri State and owns a record of 35-18 at the helm of the Lady Bears. Cunningham recently picked up her 200th career win as a head coach. She is 3-0 against Indiana State in her career.
 
Series History Against Missouri State
Missouri State leads the all-time series 68-18 and has won each of the last 19 meetings. Indiana State's last win in the series came in the 2013-14 season.
 
Last Meeting Against Missouri State (Jan. 21, 2024)
Chelsea Cain led a balanced scoring effort with 16 points, 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.
 
Up Next
Indiana State's three-game homestand continues Saturday afternoon when the Sycamores face Southern Illinois at 1 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 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.