TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State plays host to its first game inside Hulman Center since New Year's Day when it welcomes league-leading Belmont Thursday night for a 7 p.m. tip.
 
Thursday's game will be aired on ESPN+ with Chris Machado (play-by-play) and Nyah Wilson (analyst) on the call. John Sherman will have the radio call on WVIG-FM/105.5 The Legend
 
Last Time Out
Kennedy Claybrooks tallied a team-high 16 points and a career-high 11 assists for her first career double-double, but Indiana State's quest for a road conference win fell short at Bradley, 79-74, inside Renaissance Coliseum.
 
Samiyah Briggs tacked on 15 points to match her season high, while Jayci Allen added 14 points and nine rebounds off the bench, her most in an MVC contest. Claybrooks also added five rebounds and a game-high four steals for the Sycamores.
 
Indiana State started strong from deep, hitting five of its first seven 3-point attempts to lead by eight late in the second. Bradley pulled within one possession at the half, but the Blue and White scored the first five points out of the intermission to push their lead back out. The home side closed the third quarter with a 20-6 run to take a 61-54 lead over the Sycamores, but Indiana State fought back in the fourth. A 9-0 run for the Trees put Indiana State ahead 63-61, and the Blue and White still had a lead with less than three minutes remaining. Indiana State couldn't finish the job down the stretch, though, as Bradley outscored the Trees 7-2 in the last two minutes to fend off a resilient Sycamore effort.
 
Dishing Out Dimes
Indiana State senior guard Kennedy Claybrooks produced her best game in a Sycamore uniform in Sunday's road contest at Bradley, leading the Sycamore with 16 points while also handing out a career-high 11 assists for her first career double-double.
 
Claybrooks was 5-for-8 from the field and banked in her only 3-point attempt of the contest. She was also a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe, pulled down five rebounds and added four steals.
 
The 11 assists for Claybrooks were the most by any Missouri Valley Conference athlete in a game this season. She is the only athlete in the MVC this season to produce a game with 15 or more points, 10 or more assists, five or more rebounds and three or more steals.
 
Finding Their Stroke
Indiana State has ranked in the bottom half of the MVC in 3-point shooting for most of the 2025-26 season, but the Sycamores put together one of their most productive games from behind the arc in their last game at Bradley.
 
The Trees went 7-for-15 from distance in Peoria, with the 46.7 percent mark from 3-point range matching the Sycamores' best effort this season. Indiana State also went 7-for-15 from deep in its home-opening win over Eastern Illinois.
 
Indiana State's strong showing from long range was buoyed by an impressive start from deep. The Sycamores hit five of their first seven 3-point attempts against the Braves, including each of their first three. Six different Sycamores knocked down a 3-pointer in Sunday's game.
 
Thieves Avenue
Indiana State has picked up its pressure in recent games, as the Sycamores have recorded double-digit steals in two of their last three games.
 
The Sycamores tallied 13 steals in their last game against Bradley, their most against a Division I opponent this season, while also recording 10 steals in their last home game against Valparaiso.
 
Conversely, Indiana State has steadily improved at taking care of the basketball in recent games. The Sycamores have a positive turnover margin in four of their first five conference games, including two games with fewer than 10 turnovers (nine against Drake, eight against UIC). Indiana State's 12.4 turnovers per game in conference play rank third in the MVC.
 
Big-Time Bench
Indiana State's reserves have given the Sycamores significant contributions throughout the 2025-26 season, as the Trees rank among the national leaders in bench production. Entering Thursday's game, the Sycamores rank seventh in bench scoring at 31.9 points per game. Three of the Trees' four leading scorers this season (Tierney Kelsey - 15.5, Jayci Allen - 10.3, Clemisha Prackett - 8.9) starting less than two-thirds of this season's games.
 
The Sycamores' bench production has been a collective effort this season, as six different players - Allen, Kennedy Claybrooks, Amerie Flowers, Kelsey, Prackett and Da'Naria Washington - have produced double-digit scoring games off the bench for Indiana State this season. The Blue and White have scored 30-plus bench points in eight games this season, including four with 40-plus points.
 
Making It Count
Indiana State has been among the national leaders when it comes to free throws this season, as the Sycamores rank in the top 15 nationally in both free throws made (15th, 16.2) and attempted (13th, 23.3) per game. The Sycamores rank second in the conference in both free throws made and attempted, trailing only Murray State in both categories.
 
Despite ranking near the middle of the pack of the conference in free throw percentage (69.6 percent), Indiana State has fared better from the charity stripe in recent games. The Sycamores have shot better than 75 percent from the line in five of their last seven games and are shooting 72.2 percent from the charity stripe during that span.
 
Indiana State shot 92.9 percent from the free throw line in its last game against Bradley, going 13-for-14 from the charity stripe against the Braves. It marked the second time this season with just one missed free throw for the Sycamores, as Indiana State went 16-for-17 from the line at Austin Peay in mid-November.
 
On This Date
Indiana State owns a 2-6 record in games played on January 11, with a 2-4 mark in the Division I era.
 
The Sycamores are 1-1 in home games played on this date, defeating Drake in the 1993-94 season and falling to Creighton in 2000-01 season.
 
1972 – at Illinois State (L, 26-44)
1980 – at Indiana (L, 49-65)
1994 – Drake (W, 75-66)
2000 – at Northern Iowa (L, 62-77)
2001 – Creighton (L, 64-71)
2009 – at Wichita State (W, 52-48)
2016 – at Drake (L, 55-80)
2021 – at Drake (L, 40-90)
 
Belmont At A Glance
Belmont enters Thursday's game at 10-7 overall and a perfect 6-0 in conference play. The Bruins have won five straight, with six of their seven losses coming against teams in the top 40 of the NET rankings.
 
Jailyn Banks leads a balanced Belmont attack with 15.2 points per game, with Hilary Fuller (13.6) and Avery Strickland (11.1) also averaging double-figures. Tuti Jones adds 9.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.1 steals per game. Quinn Eubank adds a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game, with seven Bruins averaging more than five points per game.
 
Bart Brooks is in his ninth season as head coach at Belmont and owns a 208-75 record. Brooks has led Belmont to postseason appearances in each of his first eight seasons, including four NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
Series History Against Belmont
Indiana State is 2-9 all-time against Belmont, including a 1-3 mark in Terre Haute. The Bruins have won all six meetings since they joined the MVC prior to the 2022-23 season.
 
The Sycamores' last win in the series was a 48-34 victory in Terre Haute during the 2012-13 season
 
Last Meeting Against Belmont (March 6, 2025)
Indiana State jumped out to a hot start 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 a 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.
 
Up Next
Indiana State remains at home to face Evansville Sunday at 2 p.m. Indian
 
Follow the Sycamores
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