TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State's three-game homestand continues Saturday afternoon when the Sycamores face Southern Illinois at 1 p.m. inside Hulman Center.
 
The game will be carried on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
Gameday Promotions
Saturday's game is the Sycamores' annual Pink Out game for breast cancer awareness. The Susan G. Komen Foundation of the Wabash Valley will be on site, with their pink fire truck being on display outside the south entrance and atrium of Hulman Center.
 
Pink Indiana State t-shirts will be given out to fans while supplies last, courtesy of ISU Credit Union.
 
Saturday's game will also feature a halftime performance from frisbee dogs.
 
Wright's Pool Service is the presenting sponsor for Saturday's game. For more information on our gameday sponsor, click HERE.
 
Last Time Out
Kiley Bess led all players with 17 points on an efficient shooting performance Thursday night, but Missouri State escaped Hulman Center with a 59-51 win over Indiana State.
 
Bess was 6-for-7 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc to go along with a career-high seven rebounds. Bella Finnegan added 11 points for the Sycamores, who led for nearly three-quarters of the game.
 
Indiana State jumped out to a strong start on the offensive end, shooting 50 percent from both the field and 3-point range in the opening quarter to take a 20-15 lead. The Lady Bears whittled Indiana State's advantage down to a pair by the break, though Bess opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer to push the lead back out. Indiana State trailed for less than 30 seconds across the first three quarters, but Missouri State outscored the Sycamores 16-7 in the final 10 minutes to survive a gritty effort from the Blue and White.
 
Efficient Model
Indiana State guard Kiley Bess put together her best game against an MVC foe this season in the Sycamores' most recent contest against Missouri State. Bess missed just one of her seven field goal attempts on the evening and was a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc, finishing with a game-high 17 points.
 
In addition to her scoring efforts, Bess also pulled down a career-high seven rebounds Thursday night. Two of Bess' rebounds came on the offensive glass, including one which led to an early Bella Finnegan 3-pointer.
 
Shot-Swatting Sycamores
Indiana State registered its sixth game of the season with five or more blocks in Thursday's game against Missouri State. Mya Glanton and Bella Finnegan both had multiple rejections against the Lady Bears.
 
As a team, Indiana State ranks fourth in the conference with 3.4 blocks per game and have improved that average to four blocks per game against Valley foes. The Sycamores tied the program single-game high of 10 blocked shots earlier this season against Southern Illinois, while Savannah White matched the program individual single-game high of seven blocks in the aforementioned game against the Salukis.
 
Hitting From Distance
Indiana State has struggled from behind the arc at times this season, but the Sycamores have picked up the pace from distance in conference play. Through 13 games against MVC foes, Indiana State has connected on 33.0 percent (66-for-200) of its 3-point attempts, compared to a paltry 23.1 percent clip (39-for-169) in non-conference play.
 
The Sycamores have six games this season with a 3-point percentage of 40 percent or higher. Five of those six games have come in conference play, as Bella Finnegan (42.9 percent), Kiley Bess (37.5 percent) and Asia Donald (37.5 percent) have all hit from distance at a high clip against Valley competition.
 
Double Vision
Indiana State guard Ella Sawyer registered the first double-double of her collegiate career in the Sycamores' most recent road 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 7.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. Four of her six double-digit scoring games this season have come against MVC foes.
 
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).
 
Southern Illinois at a Glance
Southern Illinois comes into Saturday's game sporting a record of 7-16 overall and 2-11 in conference play. The Salukis have lost six straight, including a 93-89 overtime defeat at Evansville in their last game.
 
Laniah Randle leads the Salukis with 18.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, while Jaidynn Mason also averages double-digit scoring for SIU at 13.9 points per game. Quierra Love leads the team in both assists (4.2 per game) and steals (2.3 per game), with Southern Illinois ranking among the best in the conference in turnovers forced at 20.8 per contest.
 
Kelly Bond-White is in her second season as the head coach at Southern Illinois and owns a 19-35 record at the helm of the Salukis. Bond-White is 3-1 in her career against Indiana State, and was previously a longtime assistant on the Texas A&M coaching staff.
 
Series History Against Southern Illinois
Southern Illinois leads the all-time series 58-46 and owns a 25-21 advantage in games played in Terre Haute. Indiana State won the earlier meeting this season in Carbondale to snap a 12-game losing streak against the Salukis that dated back to the 2018-19 season.
 
Last Meeting Against Southern Illinois (Jan. 19, 2024)
Mya Glanton recorded her fifth double-double of the season Friday night while Savannah White tied the Indiana State single-game record with seven blocks, helping Indiana State squeak past Southern Illinois 64-63 inside Banterra Center.
 
Glanton led the Sycamores with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Bella Finnegan had 11 and Ella Sawyer added 10. Eight different players scored for the Sycamores, who led by as many as 22 in the third quarter.
 
After a slow start, Indiana State used a 17-4 run to take a double-digit lead after the first quarter and never trailed for the remainder of the game. Glanton had 15 first-half points, including 11 in the opening quarter, as a strong shooting performance in the opening 20 minutes allowed the Trees to take a 38-22 lead into the intermission. The Sycamores maintained their double-digit advantage until the fourth quarter, as SIU took advantage of 17 second-half turnovers to get within one late. A deep two-pointer from the corner from White inside the last 30 seconds proved to be a dagger, allowing Indiana State to hold off Southern Illinois' comeback effort.
 
Up Next
Indiana State's three-game homestand concludes Thursday evening at 6 p.m. against Evansville.
 
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.