TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State heads south for a two-game road trip beginning Friday night at Murray State.
Tipoff from the CFSB Center is slated for 7 p.m. and will be carried on ESPN+. John Sherman will also have the radio call on WVIG-FM/105.5 The Legend.
Last Time Out
Saige Stahl scored a career-high 17 points Sunday afternoon as part of her sixth double-double of the season, but visiting Missouri State's steady offense was too much for Indiana State to overcome in a 73-57 loss inside Hulman Center.
Stahl added a game-high 14 rebounds, while
Bella Finnegan added 16 points.
Deja Jones finished with six points and eight rebounds for the Sycamores.
Indiana State kept things competitive in the first quarter, Missouri State used a strong start to the second quarter to build a double-digit lead. Back-to-back baskets inside the final minute of the half for the Lady Bears saw the Sycamores trailing 41-27 at the break, and Missouri State extended that lead with the first two baskets of the third quarter. Indiana State rode the hot hands of Stahl and Finnegan in the third quarter, going on a 15-2 run to pull within seven, but the Sycamores never got closer. A 17-5 Lady Bear run spanning parts of the last two quarters put the game out of reach.
Crash The Glass
Indiana State's last three games have proven to be the Sycamores' best from a rebounding perspective this season. The Trees have corralled at least 45 rebounds in each of the last three contests and are averaging 48.0 rebounds per game in that span.
» Included in the recent stretch of games are a pair in which Indiana State won the rebound margin by double-digits. The Sycamores were a season-best plus-21 in rebound margin in their win over Evansville (52-31) and also finished with a plus-14 rebound margin against Missouri State (45-31). The rebound margin against Indiana State was Missouri State's worst in a game this season and just the second time that the Lady Bears got out-rebounded in a game this season, while Evansville's rebound margin against the Sycamores was its second-worst this season.
Four different Sycamores registered a game with double-digit rebounds during the recent three-game rebounding run for the Blue and White.
Saige Stahl has a pair of double-digit rebound game in that stretch (17 vs. Evansville, 14 vs. Missouri State), guards
Deja Jones (10 vs. Southern Illinois),
Keslyn Secrist (11 vs. Southern Illinois) and
Davina Smith (11 vs. Evansville) all registered career highs in rebounds during the recent homestand for the Sycamores.
Simpson Shining
Indiana State guard
Mia Simpson has been a steady presence for the Sycamores in recent weeks since her return to the lineup. Simpson has averaged 7.0 points and 2.6 assists per game over the last five games, making three starts during that span.
Simpson has a pair of games with 10-plus points in that span, finishing with a season-high 11 at Illinois State and 10 at Bradley. In addition, she has also dished out three or more assists in each of the last three games and pulled down a season-high seven rebounds against Southern Illinois.
New Day, New Five
Indiana State has been far from traditional in terms of its starting lineup, as the Sycamores have had 10 different starting lineup variations through the first 17 games this season.
11 different players have started at least one game for the Sycamores this season, with eight different players starting more than five contests for the Blue and White during the 2024-25 campaign. Indiana State does not have a player who has started in all 17 games this season.
No Start, No Problem
Indiana State has received increased contributions from its bench in recent games, with the Sycamores tallying 20-plus bench points in four of the last five games. The Trees have scored 20-plus points off the bench in seven of the last nine games and are averaging 21.8 bench points per game in that span.
Indiana State has had a double-digit scorer off the bench in seven of the last nine games.
Mia Simpson scored in double-figures off the bench at Illinois State,
Keslyn Secrist tallied double-digit points off the bench at Bradley and
Saige Stahl put together career-best games off the bench against both Evansville and Missouri State. Overall, Indiana State has had 11 double-digit performances off the bench this season, with those performances coming from five different players (
Bella Finnegan,
Deja Jones,
Keslyn Secrist,
Mia Simpson,
Saige Stahl).
Get To The Line
Indiana State's success this season has come when the Sycamores are able to draw fouls and convert free throws. Two of the Sycamores' three wins this season have come in games where Indiana State has an advantage from the charity stripe.
As a team, Indiana State is shooting 72.2 percent from the line, ranking among the national leaders in free throws made (48th, 13.9) and attempted (55th, 19.2) per game. Indiana State has shot better than 75 percent from the free throw line in six games this season, while taking 20-plus free throws five times.
Murray State At A Glance
Murray State enters Friday's game at 12-4 overall and 6-1 in conference play. The Racers are 7-1 in their last eight games and lead the MVC in scoring at more than 87 points per game.
Katelyn Young leads the Racers with 18.1 points per game, with Halli Poock (17.4), Haven Ford (16.3) and Ava Learn (13.5) also averaging double-figure scoring for Murray State. Ford leads the Racers in rebounding at 6.2 boards per game and has also dished out more than five assists per game. Young also averages nearly six rebounds per game. Seven different Racers have hit 15 or more 3-pointers this season.
Rechelle Turner is in her eighth season as head coach at Murray State and owns a career record of 123-105 at the helm of her alma mater. Turner is Murray State's all-time wins leader and is third in win percentage in program history.
Series History Against Murray State
Indiana State is 3-6 all-time against Murray State, including a 1-3 mark in Murray.
The Sycamores and Racers have split the last four meetings, dating back to Murray State joining the Missouri Valley Conference. Indiana State swept the season series in the 2022-23 season, with Murray State winning both games last season.
Last Meeting Against Murray State (March 3, 2024)
All five Indiana State starters scored seven or more points, but a slow start for the Sycamores proved costly in an 87-70 defeat at the hands of Murray State inside CFSB Center.
Ella Sawyer led the Sycamores with 15 points, her most in an Indiana State uniform.
Mya Glanton added 13 points, while
Bella Finnegan had 12. Glanton and
Kiley Bess pulled down six rebounds each, while five different Sycamores dished out multiple assists.
In a near-mirror image of the first meeting this season, Indiana State quickly found itself in an early double-digit hole. The Sycamores trailed 17-2 by the midway point of the opening quarter and found themselves trying to catch up for the remainder of the game. A strong third quarter, capped by a 13-3 run, helped the Trees get within 62-49 heading to the fourth. Indiana State got within 10 at 66-56 following baskets from Glanton and Bess along with a three-ball from Finnegan, but an 11-2 Murray State run put the game out of reach.
Up Next
Indiana State closes its two-game road trip Sunday afternoon at Belmont, with tipoff from Nashville set for 3 p.m.
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