TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State closes its non-conference slate Sunday and Monday, as the Sycamores take part in the Cherokee Invitational. The Trees face No. 24/23 Michigan State Sunday at 5 p.m. and will face either Old Dominion or No. 14/14 Ole Miss Monday.
 
The entirety of the Cherokee Invitational will air on the Women's Sports Network, with Shawn Crowe and Jennifer George on the call.
 
Last Time Out
Indiana State got off to a slow start Thursday night and never recovered, as the Sycamores were defeated 101-56 by Butler inside Hinkle Fieldhouse.
 
Tierney Kelsey paced the Blue and White with 14 points, while Clemisha Prackett tacked on 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. Samiyah Briggs added eight points, five rebounds and three steals. 
 
Indiana State attacked the basket early to take a two-point lead in the opening stages of the game, but a 17-1 Butler run had the Sycamores down by double digits early. The home side followed that by outscoring the Trees 26-7 in the second quarter and never looked back. Kelsey and Prackett combined for 17 points in the third quarter to give the Trees life, but Butler shot better than 50 percent in all four quarters to secure a lopsided win.
 
Carolina On My Mind
Indiana State's participation in the Cherokee Invitational marks a rare pair of games in the Tar Heel State for the Sycamores. The Trees have not played in either North or South Carolina since defeating both Furman and USC Upstate on the road during the 2009-10 season.
 
To find the last Sycamore game played in North Carolina, one must look back to the 1994-95 season when the Blue and White faced Duke inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.
 
Facing The Rankings
Sunday's Cherokee Invitational opener against No. 24/23 Michigan State will be the second game against a top-25 opponent in the Marc Mitchell era. Indiana State played at No. 8/9 Iiowa State last season, holding the Cyclones below 30 percent from the field.
 
Prior to the 2024-25 contest in Ames, Indiana State's last non-conference game against a ranked foe came in the 2014-15 season when the Trees defeated St. John's in Queens. Indiana State's last time playing ranked non-conference foes in back-to-back seasons also involves that game against the Red Storm, as the Trees faced LSU during the 2013-14 season.
 
Indiana State is 3-11 all-time against ranked opponents, with two of those three victories for the Blue and White needing at least one overtime period.
 
(Un)Familiar Foes
Indiana State has faced all three opponents in this weekend's Cherokee Invitational field, but those contests between the Sycamores and their foes over the upcoming days have been few and far between.
 
Michigan State is the most common of the opponents, with the Sycamores and Spartans having met four times prior to Sunday's tournament opener. Indiana State has yet to defeat Michigan State, with the Spartans winning twice each in Terre Haute and East Lansing. Indiana State and Michigan State last met in the 2007-08 season
 
Indiana State has faced Old Dominion and Ole Miss once each, with the Sycamores defeating the Rebels in Lexington, Kentucky, in the 1980-81 season and falling to the Monarchs in Norfolk in the 1996-97 season.
 
Weekly Winner
Indiana State junior forward Clemisha Prackett nabbed her first career weekly honor, as the Sycamore post player was named the MVC Newcomer of the Week Monday afternoon.
 
Prackett recorded her fourth double-double of the seaosn in the Sycamores' last game at Butler, finishing with 12 points and a career-high 15 rebounds against the Bulldogs. Eight of Prackett's 15 rebounds came on the offensive glass, as the Sycamores recorded their fourth straight game with 10 or more second chance points.
 
Prackett became the second Sycamore to earn an MVC weekly honor this season, as Tierney Kelsey previously earned MVC Newcomer of the Week accolades in November.
 
On This Date
Indiana State is 9-8 in program history in games played on December 21, with the Sycamores' win over LIU in 1998 being the only neutral-site win on this date.
 
1982 – at UIC (W, 81-55)
1988 – at Eastern Michigan (W, 83-73)
1991 – at Michigan (L, 58-67)
1996 – at Loyola (Md.) (W, 69-66)
1998 – vs. Long Island (W, 93-56)
2001 – at Green Bay (L, 51-78)
2002 – at Saint Louis (L, 53-67)
2006 – at Vanderbilt (L, 75-89)
2013 – Butler (W, 62-56)
2014 – at St. John's (W, 73-67 (OT))
2015 – Butler (W, 60-51 (OT))
2016 – Tulsa (W, 72-68)
2017 – at Butler (L, 51-60)
2018 – at Eastern Illinois (L, 39-63)
2019 – Southeast Missouri State (L, 58-68)
2022 – Detroit Mercy (W, 72-49)
2024 – at Purdue (L, 68-87)
 
Michigan State At A Glance
Michigan State enters the weekend at 9-1 overall, with the Spartans' lone loss coming to Wisconsin in Big Ten play. MSU ranks among the national leader in nearly every offensive statistic while also boasting a top-15 scoring defense.
 
Grace VanSlooten leads a deep Michigan State roster with 14.0 points per game, as five Spartans are averaging double-digit scoring this season. Kennedy Blair adds 13.3 points and team-leading marks of 6.8 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game, while former Purdue standout Rashunda Jones averages more than three steals per game.
 
Robyn Fralick is in her third season as head coach at Michigan State and owns a 53-20 record with the Spartans. Fralick previously built Bowling Green into one of the top teams in the MAC and helped transform Ashland into one of the top Division II programs in the nation.
 
Series History Against Michigan State
Indiana State is 0-4 all-time against Michigan State, with Sunday's game being the first neutral site contest between the teams.
 
Michigan State has two wins each in Terre Haute and East Lansing.
 
Last Meeting Against Michigan State (Dec. 8, 2007)
Indiana State stood toe-to-toe with No. 23 Michigan State for the better part of the game, but the Sycamores hit just 27.4% of their shots as they fell 83-58 to the Spartans
 
» In her first collegiate start, sophomore Maria Olsthoorn posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Joining Olsthoorn in double-figure scoring were Leah Phillips with 12 and Annie Bankhead, who scored 11 points.
 
The Sycamores trailed just 36-29 at the half, despite hitting only 25% of their shots. The Spartans' halftime advantage was nearly trimmed to just four points as Phillips' mid-court shot at the buzzer rimmed in and out of the basket. Phillips posted all of her game-high 12 points in the first half. Indiana State trimmed the Michigan State lead down to 45-38 on a basket by Kara Schilli with 15:54 left in the game, but the Spartans went on a 7-0 run to push the lead out to 52-38 at the 13:52 mark. The margin reached a high of 28 points at 83-55 with 41 seconds on the clock. Freshman Heather Seyfred connected on a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left for the final margin of 83-58.
 
Up Next
Indiana State will face either Old Dominion or No. 14/14 Ole Miss Monday evening before turning back to Missouri Valley play December 29 at Illinois State
 
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