NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Indiana State and Belmont were neck-and-neck for the majority of the first 30 minutes Saturday evening, before the homestanding Bruins pulled away to defeat the Sycamores 88-79 inside the Curb Event Center.
 
Clemisha Prackett paced the Blue and White with a career-high 22 points and eight rebounds, with Kennedy Claybrooks adding 12 points and nine assists to finish just shy of a double-double. Da'Naria Washington tacked on 11 points and seven rebounds for the Sycamores.
 
Indiana State kept pace with Belmont for most of the first half with a balanced attack, as four different Trees had at least seven points in the opening 20 minutes. A 13-0 Bruin run spanning parts of the second and third was answered by the Sycamores, as Indiana State pulled within three midway through the third. Belmont iced the game with a 10-0 fourth quarter run, holding off an Indiana State rally despite a 9-0 run for the Sycamores to close the game.
 
First Half
Similar to Indiana State's previous game at Murray State, Washington got things going for the Blue and White with a pair of baskets. Claybrooks and Kayla Smith added baskets midway through for the Trees, keeping the Sycamores in front during the opening quarter. Six late points from Jayci Allen, along with a Camariyana Tavares layup, had Indiana State and Belmont on level footing at 19-19 after one.
 
Claybrooks put the Trees back in front with an early second quarter trey, with Prackett tacking on a basket down low to keep Indiana State ahead. Prackett added three more baskets in the period, with free throws from Kayla Smith and Claybrooks giving Indiana State a three-point lead in the closing minute of the quarter. Belmont rallied with a 9-0 run inside the final minute of the frame to take a 45-39 lead into the break.
 
Second Half 
Belmont briefly extended its lead to double-digits before the Trees answered with two layups from Washington and a trey from Claybrooks. Smith added a layup in transition to pull the Sycamores within three. Prackett went back to work with five points in the middle stages of the frame, with Tierney Kelsey adding a basket to keep things close, but Belmont countered with a late run to extend its lead. Allen split a pair of free throws inside the final minute, but the Sycamores trailed 66-56 after three quarters.
 
A 6-0 run for the home side to start the quarter saw Indiana State trailing 72-56, before a basket from Kelsey and a pair of free throws from Washington stopped the run. Back-to-back threes from the home side proved to be a dagger, as Belmont used a 10-0 run to push its lead out to 82-60. Layups from Prackett and Claybrooks, along with a Samiyah Briggs 3-pointer, pulled Indiana State within 84-70, but the Trees never got closer. Despite a late push from the Blue and White, Indiana State fell 88-79 in its final road game of the season.
 
News and Notes

• Clemisha Prackett set a career-high in scoring for the second straight game with 22 in Saturday's contest. Prackett scored 20-plus points in both ends of Indiana State's road trip, becoming the first Sycamore to do so since Keslyn Secrist against Murray State and Belmont in the final week of the 2024-25 season.
• Indiana State recorded its third straight game with 40-plus bench points, finishing with 42 in Saturday's game. The Trees had a 42-25 advantage in bench scoring.
• Indiana State went 23-for-29 from the free throw line (79.3 percent), with the Sycamores recording their most free throws made and attempted since Feb. 1.
• Despite falling on the road, Indiana State had a 39-38 advantage in rebounds. The Sycamores had 12 offensive rebounds, converting them into 15 second chance points.
• Belmont entered the weekend as the top team in the MVC in turnover margin, but the Sycamores finished plus-one in the turnover department Saturday (14-13). Indiana State turned 14 Belmont turnovers into 15 points on the other end.
• Kennedy Claybrooks was a team-high plus-10 in Saturday's game, with Ruth Sodipe (plus-seven) and Samiyah Briggs (plus-four) also recording a positive plus-minus rating in Saturday's game.
• Indiana State outscored Belmont 23-22 in the fourth quarter of Saturday's game.

 
Up Next
Indiana State returns to Hulman Center for its final regular season game Thursday night against Northern Iowa, with tipoff set for 7 p.m.

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