TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – It was a tale of two halves Tuesday night inside Hulman Center, with Indiana State overwhelming visiting IU Indy in the final 20 minutes to claim an 86-74 victory in the Sycamores' home opener.
Amerie Flowers led a balanced effort for the Trees with 18 points and 12 rebounds off the bench, while
Aaliyah Youngblood also came off the bench to tally 17 points and seven steals.
Karsen Marshall and
Ashley Singhateh finished with 13 and 12, respectively, with both hitting buzzer-beating threes to close out the middle two quarters.
Saroiya Ajomale added 11 points in less than 10 minutes of action, while Singhateh dished out a game-high eight assists to go alongside her double-digit scoring.
Indiana State started slow, as the visitors built a double-digit lead by the end of the first quarter. Things got worse for the Trees, who lost starting point guard
Eanae Dagons early in the second and fell behind by as many as 17. From there, it was all Indiana State, though. Back-to-back threes from Ajomale and Marshall, the latter's at the halftime buzzer, keyed a 9-2 run to pull the Trees within 10 at the break. The Sycamores went on a 19-3 run to close the third, as Youngblood and Singhateh combined for 14 in the frame including another buzzer-beating trey to go ahead 61-57. Indiana State kept its foot on the gas pedal, opening the fourth with a 19-2 run to put the game out of reach.
First Half
Two early baskets from Ajomale got things started for the Sycamores, with Marshall and Flowers tacking on baskets to level the score at 11 late in the first quarter. IU Indy got hot to close the frame, though, as the visitors closed on a 12-0 run to take a 24-13 after 10 minutes.
Things started to spiral downhill for the Trees early in the second, losing Dagons just 40 seconds into the quarter and allowing IU Indy to go on a 10-0 run to push its lead to 17. Two baskets down low from Flowers cut into the deficit, but the Jaguars answered on the other end, as Indiana State faced a 42-25 deficit late in the second. The switch seemed to flip from that point on, though, with a Youngblood layup and threes from Ajomale and Marshall, the latter's to beat the halftime horn, pulling the Sycamores within 10 at 45-35.
Second Half
IU Indy maintained its double-digit lead early in the third, but things quickly unraveled for the visitors. Indiana State's defense led to quick offense, with
Heaven Shockley, Youngblood and Singhateh all converting off Jaguar turnovers to pull the Blue and White within four. Another Youngblood steal led to an easy basket to level the score, and the junior knocked down a corner three to put the Trees back in front with under a minute to play in the third. Indiana State forced another late Jaguar turnover, and Singhateh connected on a three at the buzzer to give the Sycamores a 61-57 lead entering the fourth.
Indiana State's surge didn't stop in the fourth, as and-ones from Flowers and Youngblood paired with an Ajomale transition bucket pushed the Sycamore lead to double-digits. The scoring continued, as Marshall drained another three-ball while
Natalia Williams tacked on two buckets of her own to give the Trees an 80-59 advantage with just under four minutes to play. IU Indy applied pressure of its own and pulled within nine late, but the Sycamores closed it out from the free throw line to seal an 86-74 home-opening win.
News and Notes:
- Indiana State outscored IU Indy 51-29 in the second half, including a 38-5 run spanning the last 6:04 of the third and the first 6:20 of the fourth quarters.
- Despite trailing by as many as 17, Indiana State outscored IU Indy in three of the four quarters of Tuesday's game.
- Indiana State's pressure defense overwhelmed IU Indy, as the Sycamores forced 23 turnovers and converted those into 32 points on the other end.
- The Trees finished a season-high plus-11 in turnover margin, committing a season-low 12 turnovers.
- Despite being out-rebounded, Indiana State finished with a 13-9 advantage in second chance points. The Sycamores also commanded the paint, finishing with a 46-32 advantage down low.
- Indiana State's two leading scorers in Tuesday's game (Amerie Flowers 18, Aaliyah Youngblood 17) came off the bench, as the Sycamores finished with a 46-18 advantage in bench scoring.
- Indiana State shot a season-best 42.7 percent from the field (32-for-75) and 40 percent from behind the arc (6-for-15). Karsen Marshall was responsible for half of the threes for the Trees, going 3-for-6 from deep.
- Amerie Flowers became the first Sycamore to record a double-double this season, finishing with 18 points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday's game. Flowers has averaged 13.5 rebounds per game against IU Indy for her career.
- Indiana State improved to 6-3 under Marc Mitchell when having five or more players in double-figures and 7-3 when scoring 80 or more points.
- Aaliyah Youngblood's seven steals were the most in a game by a Sycamore since Dec. 1, 2021 when Del'Janae Williams recorded seven steals against Chicago State.
- Tuesday's win marked the second straight home-opening win for the Sycamores after defeating Eastern Illinois in last year's home opener.
- Tuesday's starting lineup consisted of Ashley Singhateh, Kristen McMillan, Karsen Marshall, Eanae Dagons and Saroiya Ajomale. It marked the first time this season that the Sycamores kept their same starting five from the previous game.
Postgame Press Conference: Marc Mitchell, Aaliyah Youngblood, Amerie Flowers
Up Next
Indiana State continues its three-game homestand Friday night with a 7 p.m tip against Wright State.
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