TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State jumped out to a hot start Thursday night inside Hulman Center. That spark soon faded, though, as Belmont exploded for 57 second-half points in a 90-69 setback for the Sycamores.
 
Keslyn Secrist led all players with 22 points, her fifth 20-point game this season, and also added five rebounds. Savannah White had 13 points and seven boards, while Deja Jones finished with 11 points and eight assists.
 
Indiana State hit eight of its first 13 shots and led by as many as eight midway through the first quarter, but Belmont closed on an 11-0 run to take a three-point lead after one quarter. After an low-scoring second quarter saw the teams go to the intermission separated by three points, Belmont broke things open with an 11-2 run in the third quarter and never looked back. The Bruins put up a 28-point third quarter and followed with a 29-point fourth quarter to cruise past the Sycamores.
 
First Half
Indiana State came out firing from behind the arc to start, as Jones, Secrist and Bella Finnegan all hit threes in the first four minutes of the game. Two layups from White, along with a pair of baskets from Secrist, saw the Sycamores lead 18-11 midway through the first, and Finnegan tacked on a three-ball to extend the advantage out to eight. Belmont closed the quarter strong, though, as the Bruins finished the frame on an 11-0 run to lead 24-21 after one.
 
Baskets from Mia Simpson and Finnegan kept the Sycamores on pace with Belmont early in the second quarter. Secrist knotted things up at 30-all late in the quarter with a pair of layups, one of which came on a three-point play with just over two minutes left in the half. Belmont banked in a three with just under a minute to go, as the visitors led 33-30 at the break.
 
Second Half
An early jumper from Jones, along with another Finnegan three-ball, had Indiana State within four just over two minutes into the third quarter. Layups from White and Secrist kept the Trees within range midway through, but an 11-2 Belmont run broke things open. Indiana State hit just one basket in the final six minutes of the quarter, a layup from Secrist with just under two minutes remaining, as the Sycamores trailed 61-43 entering the fourth.
 
Layups from White and Jones, along with a basket from Secrist, gave the Sycamores some momentum early in the final frame, but that was short-lived. Belmont went on a 14-4 run to push its lead out to 87-56 as Indiana State went on another long drought without a basket, this one lasting more than four minutes. Semie Brar knocked down a pair of late threes, but the game was already out of reach by then as the Sycamores slumped to a 90-69 defeat.
 
News and Notes

• Keslyn Secrist recorded her fifth 20-point game of the season Thursday, finishing with a game-high 22. Secrist and Bella Finnegan are tied for the team lead with five 20-point games each.
• Semie Brar matched her season highs of eight points and two 3-pointers in Thursday's game.
• Indiana State continued its trend of extending possessions, logging 16 second chance points Thursday.
• The Sycamores dished out 17 assists Thursday, the most for Indiana State since recording 20 assists at Southern Illinois Feb. 9.
• Savannah White continued to make her case for the all-defensive team, finishing with a game-high three blocks to go alongside her 13 points and seven rebounds (all defensive)
• With just eight available players, four of Indiana State's five starters logged more than 30 minutes of action Thursday.

 
Up Next
Indiana State plays its final regular season game Saturday at 2 p.m. against Murray State inside Hulman Center. The Sycamores will honor their senior class, consisting of guards Semie Brar and Deja Jones, forward Leah Yarbrough, and graduate assistants Jada Haines and Donald Metoyer Jr., prior to the game.
 
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