TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State opens the month of February at home, as the Sycamores play host to UIC Saturday afternoon for a 2 p.m. tip inside Hulman Center.
 
Saturday's game will be carried on ESPN+ with Brendan King (play-by-play) and Adrian Madrid (analyst) on the call. John Sherman will also have the radio call on WFNB-FM/99.5 and 106.9 The Fanbase.
 
Last Time Out
Deja Jones scored 11 of her team-high 14 points in the second half as Indiana State mounted a comeback against visiting Valparaiso, but the Beacons rallied late in the fourth quarter to hold off the Sycamores on Thursday night inside Hulman Center, 73-54.
 
Jones scored nine of Indiana State's 22 points in the third quarter as the Sycamores cut a 15-point halftime deficit down to single-digits at 51-43 with 10 minutes to play. The Beacons responded with a balanced attack led by Leah Earnest's game-high 25 points and six steals on their way to hold off the comeback in securing the conference win.
 
Jones recorded her 10th double-digit scoring effort of the season and third game in a row with 10-plus points as the senior guard made her presence felt in the second half. She finished with seven rebounds, five assists and a steal, while hitting 2-of-3 from behind the arc in the loss.
 
Keslyn Secrist recorded her second double-double of the season as the sophomore guard recorded 12 points and 11 rebounds, while adding three steals over 30:27 of action. Saige Stahl added nine points and four boards, while Savannah White filled the statistics sheet with six points, five rebounds, and six blocked shots. 
 
Seeing Double
Indiana State sophomore guard Keslyn Secrist registered her second double-double of the season in Thursday's game against Valparaiso, finishing with 12 points and tying her career-high of 11 rebounds.
 
Secrist's 11 rebounds led all players in Thusrday's game, while the double-double was her second in the last five games. She also had a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double against Southern Illinois in mid-January.
 
Rejected
Indiana State junior forward Savannah White posted six blocks in Thursday's game against Valparaiso, the most for a Sycamore in a game this season and the second-most for an MVC player in a game this season.
 
The Sycamores set a season high of eight blocks against the Beacons and are the top shot-blocking team in conference play this season at 4.22 per game.
 
 
Attack The Glass
Indiana State won the rebound margin for the fourth time in the last six games Thursday against Valparaiso, finishing plus-6 in margin (39-33) against the Beacons.
 
The Sycamores finished with 16 offensive rebounds in Thursday's game, converting those into 14 second chance points. Five different Sycamores had three offensive rebounds against Valparaiso (Deja Jones, Keslyn Secrist, Saige Stahl, Mia Simpson, Savannah White).
 
Home Cooking
Indiana State is back home at Hulman Center, with the Sycamores looking to see an uptick in numbers. The Trees home splits show marked improvement across the board compared to their numbers on the road.
 
The Sycamores' scoring margin is more than seven points per game better at home compared to on the road, with the Trees also averaging more points (64.2 home, 62.5 away) and rebounds (42.0 home, 36.1 away) inside Hulman Center.
 
Indiana State has a plus-4.8 rebound margin at home compared to a minus-4.8 margin on the road. The Sycamores' field goal, 3-point and free throw percentages are all higher at home compared to on the road.
 
20-Somethings
Indiana State has seen four different players record a game with 20-plus points this season, with three of the four Sycamores accomplishing the feat against conference foes.
 
Deja Jones was the most recent Sycamore to score 20-plus in a game, finishing with 21 in the opening game of Indiana State's road trip at Murray State. Jones was an efficient 8-for-14 from the field against the Racers.
 
Prior to Jones, Bella Finnegan and Keslyn Secrist also scored 20-plus points against Missouri Valley Conference opposition. Finnegan tied her season-high of 22 in Indiana State's win over Evansville, while Secrist had 20 against Southern Illinois.
 
New Year, New Roles
Indiana State was left with the task of replacing four starters from its 2023-24 season, with the Sycamores often relying on youth during the 2024-25 season.
 
Of the Sycamores who have started a game this season, only Bella Finnegan was a regular in the rotation at any point over the last two seasons. Deja Jones, Keslyn Secrist and Savannah White have become regular starters after combining to start just three games in the entire 2023-24 season.
 
Jones and Secrist, Indiana State's leaders in assists and 3-pointers, both average more than 30 minutes per game this season after averaging less than 10 minutes per contest in the 2023-24 season, while leading rebounder Saige Stahl averages 25 minutes per game after averaging less than seven minute per game last season.
 
UIC At A Glance
UIC enters the weekend at 7-11 overall and 4-5 in conference play. The Flames are 3-1 in their last four and won each of their last two games, including a 74-43 shellacking of Evansville in their last contest.
 
Makiyah Williams leads the Flames in scoring at 11.7 points per game, while Jaida McCloud paces UIC in rebounds with 5.9 per game. UIC features a balanced output, with 10 different players averaging more than 15 minutes per game and seven scoring more than five points per game.
 
Ashleen Bracey is in her third season as head coach at UIC and owns a 44-44 record at the helm of the Flames. Bracey led the Flames to postseason appearances in each of her first two seasons.
 
Series History Against UIC
Indiana State is 14-6 all-time against UIC, including a 7-2 mark in Terre Haute. The Flames swept the season series last year and have won three straight over the Sycamores.
 
Indiana State's last win in the series came in the 2022-23 season, a 59-48 win in Chicago. The Sycamores' last win in the series in Terre Haute came in the 2021-22 season, while the Flames were still in the Horizon League.
 
Last Meeting Against UIC (Feb. 11, 2024)
Ella Sawyer registered the first double-double of her career, 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.
 
Up Next
Indiana State heads back on the road to face Missouri State Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m.
 
Follow the Sycamores
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