TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State opens a three-game road trip Friday night as the Sycamores visit Western Kentucky for a 7:30 p.m. tip in Bowling Green. The game will be aired on ESPN+.
 
Last Time Out
Indiana State women's basketball made its 2025-26 home debut Tuesday night inside Hulman Center and delivered an emphatic response, cruising past Eastern Illinois 90-69 to notch its first win of the season.
 
Tierney Kelsey once again led the way off the bench, posting a game and career-high 22 points. Jayci Allen followed with 21 points and Clemisha Prackett chipped in 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Sycamores' first double-double of the season. Kennedy Claybrooks directed the offense with eight assists as the Sycamores improved to 1-1 on the year.
 
Indiana State led for nearly the entirety of the game, but things didn't come easy in the early stages. The Sycamores used a 15-2 run early in the second quarter to take control as Kelsey and Allen both hit double-figures in the first half, but EIU fought back and was within two possessions at the half. Indiana State extended its lead back to double-digits in the third quarter and used a 14-3 run to start the fourth quarter to effectively put the game out of reach. Prackett nearly recorded a double-double in just the fourth quarter as the Trees picked up their first win of the season in the home opener.
 
Sycamores Stepping Up
Indiana State's bench production has been noteworthy through two games this season, with the Trees averaging 46 bench points per game. The Sycamores have scored 30-plus bench points in each of their first two games this season, including a 59-bench point outing in their home-opening win over Eastern Illinois.
 
Indiana State has had multiple players in double-figures off the bench in each of the first two games, including a pair of 20-point scorers off the bench in its win over Eastern Illinois in Tierney Kelsey (22) and Jayci Allen (21). Clemisha Prackett also added a double-double off the bench against EIU (14 points, 10 rebounds), while Kelsey and Allen both hit double-figures in the season opener at IU Indy as well.
 
Fourth Quarter Feasting
Indiana State has made a living in the fourth quarter this season, with the Sycamores outscoring their opponents 48-25 in the final frame.
 
The Trees have won the fourth quarter by double digits in each of the first two games this season, outscoring IU Indy 20-9 and Eastern Illinois 28-16 in the last 10 minutes.
 
Double-Double Trouble
Indiana State junior forward Clemisha Prackett made the most of her time on the court in the Sycamores' home-opening win over Eastern Illinois.
 
Prackett recorded the first double-double by a Sycamore this season, finishing with season highs of 14 points and 10 rebounds in the win over the Panthers. The junior forward was a force in the fourth quarter, putting up 10 points and nine rebounds in the last 10 minutes of the home-opening win.
 
TK Can Play
Indiana State sophomore guard Tierney Kelsey has given the Sycamores major contributions off the bench this season, as the Memphis native leads the Blue and White in scoring at 18.5 points per game through the first two games.
 
Kelsey has scored at least 15 points in each of Indiana State's first two games this season, including a career-high 22 points in the Sycamores' home-opening win over Eastern Illinois. The 22 points against EIU marked the first 20-point game of Kelsey's young career.
 
Dropping Dimes
Indiana State senior guard Kennedy Claybrooks led the Sycamores' all-out attack in the home-opening blowout win over Eastern Illinois. Claybrooks dished out a career-high eight assists against the Panthers, with most of that production coming in the Trees' 48-point second half performance.
 
Six of Claybrooks' eight assists in Tuesday's game came in the second half, and she added six points, four rebounds and two steals as Indiana State cruised to victory.
 
Step Up? No Problem
Indiana State redshirt junior wing Jayci Allen has made her transition to the Division I level look seamless despite spending her first three years as a collegiate athlete split between the NAIA and junior college ranks.
 
Allen has been Indiana State's second-leading scorer through the first two games, averaging 16.0 points on an efficient 54.2 percent clip from the field. Allen ranks in the top 10 in the MVC in scoring (eighth), field goal percentage (10th) and 3-point percentage (ninth) entering Friday's game.
 
On This Date
Indiana State has played eight games on November 14 in its Division I, going 4-4 in those previous contests. The Trees' last win on this date came in 2014 over Saint Louis, while Indiana State's last road win on this date came in 2009 at Kansas State.
 
 
2005 – at No. 9 UConn (L, 43-86)
2007 – No. 17 Vanderbilt (W, 77-72 (OT))
2009 – at Kansas State (W, 77-73)
2010 – UT Martin (W, 70-62)
2014 – Saint Louis (W, 63-60)
2016 – at Florida Atlantic (L, 67-70)
2019 – at Western Illinois (L, 72-83)
2021 – at Saint Louis (L, 58-65)
 
Western Kentucky At A Glance
Western Kentucky enters Friday's game at 2-1 following an overtime win at home over Wichita State. The Lady Toppers' wins have come against Wichita State and Kentucky State, with their lone loss coming on the road at Longwood.
 
Jeniffer Silva paces the Lady Toppers with 14.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, with Torri James also scoring in double-figures at 10.7 points per game. WKU features seven players averaging at least six points per game this season, while three Lady Toppers average five boards per game. Tia Shelling adds 4.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game for the Lady Toppers, while Silva adds 2.3 blocks per game.
 
Greg Collins is in his eighth season as head coach at Western Kentucky and owns a 126-91 record at the helm of the Lady Toppers. Collins has led the Lady Toppers to a pair of WNIT appearances as head coach and has three 20-win seasons.
 
Series History Against Western Kentucky
Indiana State is 1-6 all-time against Western Kentucky, with the Lady Toppers winning each of the last six in the series. WKU won last year's season opener between the teams in Terre Haute, 71-59.
 
Indiana State's lone win in the series was an 80-69 victory in Bowling Green during the 1976-77 season.
 
Last Meeting Against Western Kentucky (Nov. 4, 2024)
Keslyn Secrist paced Indiana State with career-highs of 21 points and five rebounds, but visiting Western Kentucky stifled the Sycamores in the second half in a 71-59 defeat for the home side inside Hulman Center.
 
Mia Simpson and Chloe Williams tallied nine points each, with Williams also adding a career-high seven rebounds. Savannah White added a career-high eight points for the Sycamores, while Deja Jones dished out a game and career-high six assists.
 
Indiana State used a fast pace to jump out to an early lead, with Secrist catching fire from behind the arc en route to 14 first-half points. The Trees led 22-17 after the opening quarter and shot 62.5 percent from the field in the first half as the teams went to the locker room deadlocked. Western Kentucky's pressure intensified as the game went on, though, and the Lady Toppers outscored Indiana State 34-22 in the second half, largely off a pair of scoring runs in each of the last two quarters, to spoil the Sycamores' season opener.
 
Up Next
Indiana State's three-game road swing continues Sunday afternoon at Austin Peay, with tipoff in Clarksville slated for 2 p.m.
 
Follow the Sycamores
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