TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State looks to continue its momentum Thursday night when it welcomes Southern Illinois for a 7 p.m. tip inside Hulman Center
 
Thursday's game will be carried on ESPN+ with Kelsie Kasper (play-by-play) and Adrian Madrid (analyst) on the call. John Sherman will also have the radio call on WVIG-FM/105.5 The Legend.
 

Indiana State Women's Basketball vs. Southern Illinois
Date	Thursday, January 16 | 7 p.m. ET
Location // Venue	Terre Haute, Ind. // Hulman Center (9,000)
Game Notes	Indiana State Notes // Southern Illinois Notes
Live Stats	Live Stats Link
Watch	ESPN+
Listen	WVIG-FM/105.5 The Legend
Tickets	Tickets Starting at $6
Social Media	@IndStWBB // @IndStAthletics

 
Last Time Out
Bella Finnegan matched her season high of 22 points Sunday afternoon while Saige Stahl added career highs of 16 points and 17 rebounds to lead Indiana State to a 90-74 win over Evansville inside Hulman Center.
 
Keslyn Secrist tacked on 16 points and a career-high nine rebounds for the Trees, while Deja Jones joined her in double-figures with 11 points as the Sycamores scored 20-plus points in all four quarters.
 
Indiana State took the lead for good on a Secrist three-ball just before the first quarter horn, and broke out late in the second quarter with a 10-0 run to push its lead to double-digits at the intermission. A pair of threes from Finnegan midway through the third upped the advantage to 57-36, but Evansville rallied back to cut the Sycamore lead to 10 heading into the fourth. The visitors got within eight early in the fourth, but an 8-0 Sycamore run followed to put the game out of doubt. Stahl's final basket of the game gave the Sycamores their most points in a game in over a decade.
  
Light It Up
Indiana State put together its highest-scoring game in over a decade in its recent win against Evansville, hitting the 90-point mark for the first time since the 2013-14 season. The Sycamores' last game with 90-plus points came on Jan. 5, 2014 when they defeated Drake by a 90-81 margin.
 
The Sycamores featured four players in double-figures in their 90-74 win over the Purple Aces, led by Bella Finnegan with 22. Keslyn Secrist and Saige Stahl added 16 apiece, while Deja Jones chipped in 11.
 
Indiana State was efficient on offense throughout the game, shooting 50 percent from the field (36-for-72) and 43.8 percent from 3-point range (7-for-16).
 
Attack The Basket
Indiana State went to the paint early and often in its win over Evansville, with 60 percent of the Sycamores' scoring in their 90-74 win coming in the paint.
 
Indiana State tallied a season-best 54 points in the paint, marking the Sycamores' most in a game since the first round of the 2022 MVC Tournament, which was also against Evansville. The Sycamores had at least 12 points in the paint in all four quarters against the Purple Aces and shot 57 percent from the paint (27-for-47).
 
Stuffing The Stat Sheet
Indiana State forward Saige Stahl put together a career-best performance against Evansville, finishing with 16 points and a game-high 17 rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench against the Purple Aces. Stahl's 16 points tied her career high, which she also set at Purdue, while her 17 rebounds were a career-best tally.
 
Stahl's 17 rebounds are tied for 11th in a single game in program history, and marked the fourth time in the last four seasons that Indiana State had a player pull down 15 or more rebounds in a game.
 
Sharp-Shooting Sycamores
Indiana State continues to lead the MVC in 3-point percentage during conference play, with the Sycamores shooting 42.9 percent from behind the arc against league foes. The Trees are the only team in the MVC shooting better than 40 percent from 3-point range in conference play.
 
The Sycamores have averaged seven 3-pointers per game over the last five games, dating back to the non-conference finale at Purdue and are shooting 43.2 percent from behind the arc in that span. For comparison, Indiana State shot just 28.6 percent from 3-point range across its first 10 games of the season.
 
Indiana State has a pair of sharpshooters leading the 3-point barrage, with Bella Finnegan and Keslyn Secrist both ranking in the top 10 in the MVC in 3-point percentage during conference play. Finnegan has knocked down 50 percent of her shots from behind the arc, ranking third in the MVC, while Secrist is 10th in the conference in 3-point percentage at 41.7 percent. Finnegan and Secrist are both tied for third in the conference with 2.5 made 3-pointers per game against league foes.
 
Extra Opportunities
A game after having zero second chance points against Bradley, Indiana State made up for that low mark in a major way against Evansville. The Sycamores tallied a season-high 24 second chance points against the Purple Aces, a figure that can be attributed to a dominant performance on the glass (plus-21 rebound margin) and efficient shooting numbers (50.0 field goal percentage).
 
Indiana State's 24 second chance points against Evansville were the most for the Sycamores in a game since Jan. 21, 2022, when the Trees had 26 second chance points against Valparaiso. Similar to Sunday's game, the Sycamores dominated the glass in that game against the Beacons (plus-21 rebound margin) and had an efficient shooting performance (50.7 field goal percentage).
 
Southern Illinois At A Glance
Southern Illinois enters Thursday's game at 2-11 overall and 0-4 in conference play. The Salukis have lost seven straight game and are 1-6 away from home this season.
 
Gift Uchenna leads the Salukis with 14.7 points and 12.7 rebounds per game, and is the only player in the MVC averaging a double-double. Uchenna ranks second in the nation in rebounds per game. Six other Salukis average more than five points per game, while Kayla Cooper also adds 2.5 assists and 1.9 steals per game.
 
Kelly Bond-White is in her third season as head coach at Southern Illinois and owns a 25-50 career record. Bond-White is 4-2 in her career against Indiana State, including a 2-0 mark in Terre Haute.
 
Series History Against Southern Illinois
Indiana State is 47-59 all-time against Southern Illinois, including a 21-25 mark in Terre Haute. The Sycamores went 2-1 against the Salukis last season, defeating SIU both on the road and in the MVC Tournament.
 
Indiana State's last home win against Southern Illinois came in the 2013-14 season.
 
Last Meeting Against Southern Illinois (March 14, 2024)
Mya Glanton led all players with a career-high 30 points, propelling Indiana State to a 66-54 win over Southern Illinois in the first round of Hoops in the Heartland.
 
Glanton's 30-point performance came on an efficient 12-for-16 shooting clip. Ella Sawyer added 12 points for the ninth-seeded Sycamores, including a perfect 10-for-10 mark from the free throw line, while Kiley Bess was also in double-figures for the Sycamores with 10.
 
Trailing by one entering the second quarter, Indiana State came alive with consecutive 3-pointers from Bella Finnegan and Bess and never trailed from the midway point of the second on. The Sycamores went down low early and often to Glanton, who had 19 in the first half, building a double-digit lead by halftime. Southern Illinois cut Indiana State's lead down to three by the end of the third quarter, but the Sycamores never wavered. Glanton outscored Southern Illinois on her own in the fourth quarter 11-9, as the Trees advanced to the quarterfinals for the second time in the last three seasons.
 
Up Next
Indiana State closes its three-game homestand Sunday afternoon with a 2 p.m. tip against Missouri State.
 
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.