DES MOINES, Iowa – Indiana State had three starters score 20-plus points Thursday night, but it came in a high-scoring setback at the hands of Drake, 107-86, inside the Knapp Center.
 
Keslyn Secrist and Savannah White paced the Sycamores with a career-high 24 points each, with White also adding a team-high 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Bella Finnegan added 22 points and Deja Jones flirted with another double-double (nine rebounds, eight assists) for the Trees, who shot a season-best 52.4 percent from 3-point range.
 
Indiana State came out swinging from the start, as the Sycamores hit six threes in the first quarter and built a double-digit lead early on. The Trees led 35-33 after the opening frame and kept the lead until the late stages of the second quarter. A 16-2 Drake run to close the half saw the Sycamores go behind 59-49 at the intermission, and the Bulldogs took control from there. Indiana State never got closer than eight in the second half, as Drake withstood a valiant effort from the Blue and White to pull away late.
 
First Half
Indiana State hardly looked like a team with just four wins this season to start the game. Finnegan, Secrist and White contributed to a 7-0 run to start the game, with Secrist hitting a trio of threes in the first three minutes of the game. Finnegan forced Drake into an early timeout with another trey to make it 20-11 Sycamores less than four minutes into the game, and a layup from White out of the timeout gave the Trees their largest lead. Baskets from Mia Simpson and Finnegan kept the Blue and White in front, with back-to-back threes from the latter propelling Indiana State to its highest-scoring quarter of the season. White added a layup inside the final minute, as the Sycamores took a 35-33 lead after the first quarter.
 
Baskets from Jones and Secrist kept the Sycamores ahead early in the second, and Queen Ruffin knocked down a three-ball to make it 42-35 Trees less than two minutes into the frame. White scored the next seven points for the Trees with three baskets and a free throw as the Sycamores led for most of the half, but Drake surged ahead late. The Bulldogs closed the half on a 16-2 run and took a 59-49 lead into the intermission.
 
Second Half
Finnegan and Simpson kept things going for the Sycamores early in the third with baskets, but Drake used a 10-2 run to further extend its lead. Secrist added a layup and two more threes to pull the Blue and White within 12 at 75-63 midway through the quarter, and Ruffin hit another trey to cut the deficit to 10 late in the frame. Drake went on a 9-0 run in the span of a minute, but late baskets from Jones and Finnegan cut Indiana State's deficit to 88-73 entering the fourth quarter.
 
Drake scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter before Finnegan hit a three to end the Bulldog run. White and Simpson added baskets down low midway through the frame, while Secrist connected on a pair of buckets in the span of a minute as the Sycamores continued to produce on the offensive end. White added another late layup, but the Sycamores ultimately fell in one of the highest-scoring games in the MVC this season, 107-86.
 
News and Notes

• Indiana State's 35 points in the first quarter represented the Sycamores' highest scoring quarter of the season. It also was the most points allowed by Drake in a quarter to any opponent this season.
• The Sycamores' 35-point first quarter came on a 13-for-19 shooting performance (68.4 percent), including a 6-for-9 clip from 3-point range (66.7 percent). Indiana State hit eight of its first 11 shots in the game, including a 4-for-6 mark from deep in that span.
• Indiana State had three players score 20-plus points in Thursday's game (Savannah White 24, Keslyn Secrist 24, Bella Finnegan 22), marking the first time that the Sycamores had a trio of 20-point scorers in the same game since Nov. 23, 2018 at Grand Canyon.
• Savannah White became the second Sycamore with a 20-10 game in as many games, finishing with a career-high 24 points and 11 rebounds. White joined Deja Jones (20 points, 12 rebounds at Valpo) as Sycamores with a 20-10 game this season.
• Indiana State's 11 threes and 52.4 percent mark from 3-point range were both the second-best marks for the Sycamores this season (15 threes at SIU, 53.8 percent 3FG vs. UNI).
• Indiana State finished plus-five in turnover margin and had just 11 giveaways in the game. The Sycamores had a 16-15 advantage in points off turnovers.
• Indiana State's 86 points were its most in a loss this season and the third-highest point total for the Sycamores in any game this season.

 
Up Next
Indiana State closes the road portion of its schedule Saturday at Evansville, with tipoff set for 6 p.m.
 
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