TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State closes its three-day, two-game Iowa road swing Saturday afternoon when the Sycamores face Drake for a 3 p.m. tip inside the Knapp Center.
 
Saturday's game will be aired on ESPN+, with Larry Morgan (play-by-play) and Laura Leonard (analyst) on the call. John Sherman will also have the radio call on WVIG-FM/105.5 The Legend.
 
Last Time Out
Playing with just nine available players, Indiana State gave homestanding Northern Iowa everything it could handle on the road Thursday night. The Sycamores nearly overcame a 16-point deficit, but ran out of gas late in a 91-79 defeat inside McLeod Center.
 
Tierney Kelsey led the Trees with a career-high 27 points and six rebounds, while Jayci Allen and Clemisha Prackett came off the bench to score in double-figures with 13 and 12, respectively. Samiyah Briggs added 10 points, with Allen also leading the Blue and White with eight rebounds.
 
After a rough first quarter which saw the Sycamores give up seven threes, the Blue and White found their stride in the middle frames. Indiana State got 11 points between Allen and Kelsey in the second to pull within five at the break, with the Trees briefly taking a lead in the third quarter after trailing by as many as 16. UNI took the lead back midway through the third, but the Sycamores kept pace thanks to 10 points in the period from Kelsey. Indiana State was within two possessions with less than four minutes remaining, but the Trees were unable to complete the comeback as Northern Iowa held off a resilient Sycamore effort.
 
Back In Business
Indiana State sophomore guard Tierney Kelsey made an emphatic return to the starting rotation in Thursday's game at Northern Iowa, finishing with career-high marks of 27 points, six rebounds and five 3-pointers against the Panthers.
 
Kelsey's 27 points were tied for the most in a game by a Sycamore this season (Amerie Flowers - 27 vs. Murray State), and also marked her team-leading fifth 20-point outing of the season. The Memphis native is responsible for half of Indiana State's 20-point games during the 2025-26 season.
 
Kelsey's five 3-pointers were also the most by a Sycamore in a game this season, with the last Indiana State player to knock down five threes in a game being Keslyn Secrist at Drake on Feb. 27, 2025. Indiana State's 10 3-pointers as a team were also the most by the Blue and White in a conference game this season, with the Sycamores last reaching that mark with 11 in the aforementioned game at Drake last season.
 
Knockdown
Indiana State has struggled from 3-point range in recent weeks, but the Sycamores found their touch from distance in Thursday's game at Northern Iowa, connecting on 37 percent of their attempts from behind the arc.
 
The Blue and White knocked down 10 treys inside McLeod Center, their most in a conference game this season. It also marked just the third time this season that the Sycamores hit double-digit threes in a game, with the Trees hitting 11 threes against both Western Kentucky and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.
 
Tierney Kelsey (five) and Jayci Allen (three) were responsible for eight of the Sycamores' 10 treys against Northern Iowa, marking the first time the Trees had multiple players hit three or more 3-pointers since Nov. 14, 2025 at Western Kentucky. Allen, Samiyah Briggs and Kennedy Claybrooks all hit three treys in the Sycamores' win over the Lady Toppers.
 
Indiana State's last four conference games with 10 or more threes have all come on the road (10 at Northern Iowa during 2023-24 season, 15 at Southern Illinois during 2024-25 season, 11 at Drake during 2024-25 season, 10 at Northern Iowa during 2025-26 season). Three of those four instances have come in the state at Iowa (two at Northern Iowa, one at Drake).
 
No Quit
Indiana State faced an early 16-point deficit in its last game at Northern Iowa, but the Sycamores didn't back down despite the slow start. The Blue and White outscored Northern Iowa 61-59 across the last three quarters, including a 49-39 advantage for the Sycamores in the middle two frames (28-19 in the second, 21-20 in the third).
 
The Sycamores' 28-point second quarter was their highest-scoring quarter since putting up 32 in the third quarter of their New Year's Day win over Valparaiso. Indiana State was an efficient 11-for-21 from the field (52.4 percent) in the frame, including a 4-for-8 mark from behind the arc.
 
Indiana State's guards led the way in their comeback effort, as Tierney Kelsey and Jayci Allen both scored in double-figures in the opening half. Kelsey briefly gave the Blue and White a one-point lead in the third quarter with one of her five threes of the evening, before the home side eventually held on.
 
Picking Up The Pace
Indiana State is on pace for its highest-scoring season in nearly 20 years, with the Sycamores' up-tempo style of play being a large contributor to that.
 
The Sycamores rank eighth nationally in possessions per 40 minutes at 78.6, the second-highest in the MVC in the last 15 seasons. Indiana State (2025-26, eighth) and Murray State (2023-24, sixth; 2024-25, ninth) are the only MVC schools to rank in the top 10 in pace over the last 15 seasons
 
Indiana State's two seasons under head coach Marc Mitchell rank among the MVC's 10 most up-tempo seasons in the last 15 years (78.6 possessions per 40 in 2025-26, 75.9 possessions per 40 in 2024-25).
 
Indiana State enters the weekend averaging 73.7 points per game overall and 74.6 points per game in conference play. This season's scoring average is on pace to be the Sycamores' highest-scoring season since the 2006-07 campaign, when the Trees averaged 77.6 points per game. Indiana State has averaged more than 70 points per game just five times in the last 30 seasons (2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07).
 
Stepping Up
Indiana State sophomore forward Amerie Flowers has taken her game to a new level in recent weeks, with the Willowbrook, Illinois, native averaging 14.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game over the Sycamores' last five contests.
 
Flowers has scored in double-figures in three of the Sycamores' last five games, including a career-high 27-point performance against league-leading Murray State. Flowers was an efficient 12-for-17 from the floor (70.6 percent), with her 27 points being the most by a Sycamore post player since the first round of the 2024 MVC Tournament when Mya Glanton had 30 in a win over Southern Illinois.
 
Flowers also pulled down her most rebounds in a conference game during her recent four-game uptick in form, finishing with 12 boards against Bradley. She has been efficient throughout the last two weeks, shooting 54.4 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent from the charity stripe.
 
On This Date
Indiana State owns a 6-7 record in games played on this date, including a 1-4 record in road games played on February 14.
 
The Sycamores are 1-1 against Drake on this date, with the Bulldogs winning in 1998 (89-70) and the Trees winning in 2016 (68-53).
 
1978 – at Ball State (L, 71-73)
1981 – Central State (W, 87-51)
1983 – at Southern Illinois (L, 58-83)
1987 – at Eastern Illinois (L, 64-73)
1991 – Eastern Illinois (L, 74-79)
1997 – Wichita State (W, 57-47)
1998 – Drake (L, 70-89)
1999 – at Missouri State (L, 46-65)
2009 – Missouri State (L, 40-53)
2010 – Wichita State (W, 81-59)
2013 – at Evansville (W, 55-48)
2014 – Southern Illinois (W, 72-35)
2016 – Drake (W, 68-53)
 
Drake At A Glance
Drake enters the weekend at 6-17 overall and 5-8 in conference play. The Bulldogs are seeking a return to the win column, having lost five straight.
 
Abbie Aalsma leads the Bulldogs in scoring at 14.7 points per game, while Anna Becker also averages double-figures at 11.1 points per contest. Maggie Taylor and Grace Knutson both average 9.5 points per game, with Taylor also pulling down a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game. Ava Hawthorne dishes out a team-high 3.0 assists per game, while Aalsma leads the Bulldogs in steals at 1.2 per game.
 
Allison Pohlman is in her fifth season as head coach at Drake and owns a 99-59 record at the helm of the Bulldogs. Pohlman was a longtime assistant at Drake prior to taking over the program, and has led the Bulldogs to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances as head coach.
 
Series History Against Drake
Indiana State is 24-67 all-time against Drake, with the Sycamores posting a 6-38 mark in Des Moines. Drake has won seven straight in the series
 
The Trees' last win in the series came in Des Moines during the 2021-22 season (78-70).
 
Last Meeting Against Drake (Dec. 17, 2025)
Indiana State started strong in its Missouri Valley Conference opener, but things quickly unraveled for the Sycamores in the middle quarters in a 97-77 defeat at the hands of Drake inside Hulman Center.
 
Tierney Kelsey led the Sycamores with 18 points, followed by Kayla Smith with 11 and Samiyah Briggs with 10. Kennedy Claybrooks paced the offense with a team-high four assists, while Clemisha Pracket anchored the defense with seven rebounds. Camariyana Tavares added six rebounds and three blocks off the bench.
 
Indiana State led 21-18 after one quarter, with Briggs leading the charge with eight points in the opening 10 minutes. The Sycamores answered a Bulldog run in the second quarter and stayed within six at halftime behind Kelsey's 15 first-half points, but Drake took control with a decisive third-period surge. The Bulldogs outscored the Trees 34-12 in the third, but Indiana State continued to fight in the fourth. A 13-4 run sparked by Tavares helped the Sycamores outscore Drake 23-15, but the damage was already done in a conference-opening setback.
 
Up Next
Indiana State returns to Hulman Center for its next two games, starting with a Thursday night tip against UIC at 7 p.m. Thursday's game is the Sycamores' Pink Game for Breast Cancer Awareness.
 
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