TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State plays its first home game of the 2025-26 season Tuesday night when it welcomes Eastern Illinois to Hulman Center for a 7 p.m. tip.
Tuesday's game will be carried on ESPN+, with Chris Machado (play-by-play), Nyah Wilson (analyst) and Piper Watkins (reporter) on the call.
Last Time Out
Indiana State nearly overcame a 14-point deficit in its 2025-26 season opener Monday night, but the Trees' valiant effort fell one possession short in a 67-64 defeat to IU Indy inside The Jungle.
Tierney Kelsey led all players with 15 points off the bench, while
Amerie Flowers pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds.
Samiyah Briggs and
Jayci Allen also finished in double figures with 14 and 11 points, respectively, while Kelsey dished out a game-high five assists.
Indiana State dug itself a hole, largely due to turnovers and foul trouble, as the Sycamores played from behind for nearly the entirety of the game. IU Indy's lead grew to as big as 14 by the end of the third, but the Trees rattled off an impressive scoring run to get right back in the game late. Indiana State opened the fourth with a 16-0 run to take its first lead of the game, as the Trees held IU Indy scoreless for the first six minutes of the final frame. In the end, IU Indy made enough plays down the stretch to go back in front, while Indiana State failed to score in the last two minutes in a season-opening defeat.
On The Run
Indiana State's 2025-26 season opener at IU Indy saw the Sycamores nearly overturn a 14-point fourth quarter deficit on the road.
The Sycamores opened the fourth quarter with a 16-0 run, holding the Jaguars scoreless for the first six-plus minutes of the final frame. Indiana State shot 60 percent from the field during the scoring run, while forcing four IU Indy turnovers during that stretch.
Indiana State's scoring run wasn't a one-person show, with four different Sycamores scoring during the run.
Samiyah Briggs had seven of the 16 points during the run, with
Jayci Allen (five),
Tierney Kelsey (two) and
Da'Naria Washington (two) also scoring during the run.
Season-Opening History
Indiana State sophomore forward
Amerie Flowers made a bit of program history in the Sycamores' season opener at IU Indy. Flowers pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds against the Jaguars, the most by a Sycamore in a season opener in the program's Division I history.
Flowers' rebounding prowess showed on both ends of the floor. Her nine defensive rebounds were tied for the most by a Sycamore in a season opener in program history, while her six offensive rebounds were tied for the fourth most in a season opener in program history.
Through the opening week of the 2025-26 season, Flowers leads the MVC in rebounding while ranking fourth in Division I in rebounds per game. Flowers also ranks in the top 20 nationally in both offensive (17th) and defensive (13th) rebounds per game.
In addition to her rebounding, Flowers added six points in the season opener, with four of those six points coming in the second half as part of the Sycamores' comeback attempt.
Sycamores Stepping Up
Indiana State received contributions all across the lineup in the season opener at IU Indy, including a pair of Sycamores coming off the bench to score in double-figures. The Trees finished with 33 bench points against the Jaguars, their most in a game since also scoring 33 against Northern Illinois on December 15, 2024. It was also the Sycamores' first game with multiple double-digit scorers off the bench since that same game against NIU.
Tierney Kelsey led the charge for the Blue and White with a game-high 15 points off the bench. Kelsey set or tied career highs in points (15), assists (five) and field goals (six) in the season opener.
Jayci Allen came off the bench to score 11 in her first game at the Division I level.
Clemisha Prackett also came off the bench to add seven points for the Sycamores in less than 15 minutes of playing time.
Block Party
Indiana State was the top shot-blocking team in the MVC during the 2024-25 season, and the Sycamores continued that trend in their 2025-26 season opener at IU Indy.
The Sycamores recorded five rejections in the season opener against the Jaguars, with four different players registering at least one blocked shot for the Blue and White.
Jayci Allen had two blocks, while
Clemisha Prackett,
Kayla Smith and
Da'Naria Washington all had one.
Nothing Comes Easy
Despite coming out on the losing end, Indiana State's defense made life difficult for IU Indy in the 2025-26 season opener. The Sycamores limited the Jaguars to a 29.4 percent clip from the field (20-for-68), with IU Indy connecting on just 14.3 percent of its 3-point attempts (4-for-28).
IU Indy shot below 35 percent in all four quarters against the Sycamore defense, with the Jaguars going just 2-for-21 from 3-point range across the last three quarters. Indiana State also forced IU Indy into 19 turnovers, with the Sycamores turning that into 18 points on the other end.
Indiana State ranks inside the top 10 nationally in 3-point defense through the opening week of play, with the Sycamores also sitting inside the top 50 nationally in field goal defense through the first week of games. The Trees are also among the MVC leaders in turnovers forced and scoring defense.
Trees Against The OVC
Indiana State is no stranger to the Ohio Valley Conference, as the Sycamores have played 121 games against OVC opponents in program history.
Overall, the Trees have a 76-45 record against the OVC, with Eastern Illinois (64 games, 38-26 record) being the most common opponent.
On This Date
Indiana State is a perfect 4-0 in games played on November 11 in the Sycamores' Division I era. Each of the previous four games played on this date in program history were inside Hulman Center.
The Sycamores have an average margin of victory of 19.3 points in their four previous November 11 games. Three of the four previous games in program history on this date resulted in Indiana State wins by 20 or more points.
The most recent game on this date came in 2016, with Indiana State defeating Northern Kentucky 58-38
2005 – Chattanooga (W, 74-53)
2007 – Arkansas-Pine Bluff (W, 89-55)
2011 – Detroit Mercy (W, 64-62)
2016 - Northern Kentucky (W, 58-38)
Eastern Illinois At A Glance
Eastern Illinois enters Tuesday's game at 0-2 following a pair of tough opening week games against Drake and Purdue.
Ava Stoller leads a trio of Panthers averaging double-digit scoring at 19.0 points per game, with Lalani Ellis (15.0) and Meioshe Mason (10.0) also averaging double-figures for EIU. Abbie Boutilier, the tallest player in women's college basketball at 6-10, leads the Panthers on the defensive end with 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game, while three different Panthers - Nyah Hardy, Clara Glad and Ella Lune - average two assists per game.
Marqus McGlothan is in his second season as head coach at Eastern Illinois and is coming off an 18-12 season as interim head coach in 2024-25. McGlothan had the interim tag removed in March after EIU finished third in the OVC.
Series History Against Eastern Illinois
Indiana State is 38-26 all-time against Eastern Illinois, including an 18-10 mark in Terre Haute. The Panthers have won the last two games in the series, defeating the Sycamores 73-60 last season in Charleston and winning 64-55 in Terre Haute during the 2021-22 season.
Indiana State's last win was a 59-57 victory in Charleston during the 2019-20 season.
Last Meeting Against Eastern Illinois (Dec. 6, 2024)
Chloe Williams led a trio of Indiana State players in double-figures with 18 points, but the Sycamores couldn't overcome a sluggish start in a 73-60 defeat to Eastern Illinois inside Groniger Arena.
Saige Stahl finished one rebound shy of a double-double, tying her career high of 14 points while also adding nine boards, while
Keslyn Secrist added 12 points to extend her streak of double-figure scoring games to eight. Williams and Secrist each pulled down seven rebounds, while
Deja Jones had nine points and six assists.
Indiana State went more than eight minutes without a basket to start and trailed by double-digits within the first three minutes of the game. The Sycamores' deficit was as many as 19 in the first half, with turnovers and poor shooting plaguing the Blue and White early. Eastern Illinois' lead grew to as many as 26 midway through the third quarter, but the Trees didn't go down without a fight. Indiana State rattled off a 13-0 run in the fourth quarter to cut its deficit down to nine, but the Sycamores ultimately ran out of time to complete their comeback.
Up Next
Indiana State kicks off a three-game road trip Friday night at Western Kentucky, with tipoff from Bowling Green slated for 7:30 p.m.
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