TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State closes a two-game homestand Sunday afternoon when it faces Bradley for the Sycamores' annual Alumni Weekend game.
 
Sunday's game tips at 2 p.m. will be carried on ESPN+ with Brendan King (play-by-play) and Evan Moss (analyst) on the call. John Sherman will also have the radio call on WVIG-FM/105.5 The Legend.
 
Gameday Information
Sunday's game is the Sycamores' annual Alumni Weekend game, with Indiana State women's basketball alumni being recognized during the game. The Sycamores will also participate in a pregame brunch with alumni following their Sunday morning shootaround time.
 
The Terre Haute Wabash Valley Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority is also holding a canned food drive at Sunday's game, with all donations going to the Sarah Scott School Food Pantry.
 
Last Time Out
Bella Finnegan led all players with 27 points Thursday night and Deja Jones added another double-double for the Trees, but visiting Illinois State scored 50 points in the second half to escape with an 85-77 win over the Sycamores inside Hulman Center.
 
Finnegan shot 50 percent from both the field and 3-point range. Jones had 14 points and 11 assists, her third straight game with 10-plus assists. Keslyn Secrist and Mia Simpson also finished in double-figures with 13 and 12, respectively.
 
Indiana State shot better than 50 percent from both the field and 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes, with a Finnegan 3-ball late in the second quarter helping the Sycamores take a two-point lead at the half. Back-to-back layups to start the second half gave the Trees a six-point lead, but Illinois State rallied back to go in front late in the third. Indiana State used the three-ball to stay within two possessions for most of the fourth, but couldn't string together a late rally as the visitors eked out a win.
 
Dropping Dimes
Indiana State guard Deja Jones has dished out double-digit assists in each of the Sycamores' last three games, setting career-best totals in assists in the process.
 
Jones opened up the weekend with 10 assists and nine rebounds at Missouri State, finishing just one rebound shy of her first career double-double. She bettered that by recording the only triple-double in the MVC this season at Southern Illinois, finishing with 11 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists against the Salukis. Jones surpassed 100 assists from the season against Illinois State, dishing out 11 assists as part of her first double-double.
 
Jones became the first Sycamore with a 10-assist game since Ella Sawyer tallied 12 assists against Southern Illinois on Feb. 17, 2024. Indiana State has had a player record a 10-assist game in each of the last three seasons (Jones at Missouri State and Southern Illinois in 2024-25, Sawyer vs. Southern Illinois in 2023-24, Anna McKendree vs. Drake in 2022-23). Her 108 assists this season are the most for a Sycamore since Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir had 140 in the 2013-14 season.
 
Heating Up
Indiana State guard Bella Finnegan recorded her second straight game with 25-plus points, finishing with 27 against Illinois State. Finnegan hit five of her 10 3-point attempts against the Redbirds, just days after setting the program single-game record with eight three at Southern Illinois.
 
Finnegan became the first Sycamore to have back-to-back 20-point games since Del'Janae Williams accomplished the feat midway through the 2021-22 season. Finnegan and Williams are the only Sycamores to record a 30-point game in the regular season over the last decade.
 
Balancing Act
All five starters for Indiana State finished in double-figures in the Sycamores' win over Southern Illinois, with Bella Finnegan (30) and Keslyn Secrist (22) both setting career highs in scoring in the process. Mia Simpson (12), Deja Jones (11) and Savannah White (10) added to the tally as Indiana State recorded its most balanced offensive game of the season.
 
Indiana State's last game prior to Sunday where all five starters scored in double-figures came on Jan. 19, 2007 against Illinois State, with the Sycamores going 515 games between that contest against the Redbirds and Sunday's game at Southern Illinois in which the entire starting lineup hit double-figures.
 
The Sycamores' balanced effort carried into their most recent game against Illinois State, with four of the five starters for Indiana State scoring in double-figures against the Redbirds.
 
Consistency Is Key
Indiana State guard Keslyn Secrist has been a model of consistency for the Sycamores this season, having scored in double-figures in 21 of the 24 games played. Included in that figure is a trio of 20-point games, with a career-high 22 at Southern Illinois.
 
Secrist ranks second on the team this season in scoring at 13.3 points per game and is tied for the team lead in scoring during conference play at 13.6 points per contest. She also is second on the team in 3-point percentage this season, knocking down 35.7 percent of her attempts from behind the arc.
 
Double-Double Trouble
Indiana State has had five different Sycamores record a double-double, with Deja Jones joining the club following her 14-point, 11-assist performance against Illinois State.
 
All five Sycamores who have registered a double-double this season - Jones, Mia Simpson, Keslyn Secrist, Saige Stahl and Savannah White - had never recorded a double-double at the Division I level prior to the 2024-25 campaign, while Deja Jones one-upped that mark Sunday afternoon with the program's first triple-double since the 1994-95 season.
 
Bradley At A Glance
Bradley enters Sunday's game at 9-15 overall and 3-10 in conference play. The Braves have lost seven straight, including a 55-45 loss to Evansville in their most recent game.
 
Soleil Barnes leads the Braves in scoring at 15.4 points per game and is the only player averaging double-figures for Bradley. Tamia Perryman (8.4) and Kaylen Nelson (8.2) both average more than eight points per game, with Barnes and Amy O'Hara both pulling down 4.5 rebounds per game. Barnes and Ruba Abo Hasheh both average more than two assists per game.
 
Kate Popovec-Goss is in her third season as head coach at Bradley and owns a 15-63 record at the helm of the Braves. Popovec-Goss, a former Northwestern assistant, is 1-3 in her career against Indiana State.
 
Series History Against Bradley
Indiana State is 54-32 all-time against Bradley, including a 31-9 mark in Terre Haute. The Sycamores have won each of the last two games played in Hulman Center.
 
Bradley won the earlier matchup this season to snap the Sycamores' five-game win streak against the Braves.
 
Last Meeting Against Bradley (Jan. 5, 2025)
Savannah White tallied a career-high 12 points as part of a balanced scoring effort for Indiana State, but the Sycamores were unable to overcome a slow start in a 65-52 defeat to Bradley inside Renaissance Coliseum.
 
White also led the Sycamores with six rebounds and a career-high four assists, while Keslyn Secrist added 12 points off the bench. Mia Simpson scored in double-figures for the second straight game with 10.
 
Indiana State struggled from the field early on, hitting just three of its first 14 shots as Bradley opened up a seven-point lead after a quarter. The Sycamores clawed their way back within three early in the second but a scoring run followed for the home side as Indiana State faced a double-digit deficit at the half. Indiana State pulled within two possessions on multiple occasions in the last two quarters, using an inside and midrange game to inch closer. The Sycamores never got closer than five, though, as Bradley pulled away late.
 
Up Next
Indiana State begins a four-game road swing Friday when it faces UIC at noon in Chicago.
 
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