CORALVILLE, Iowa – Tierney Kelsey paced a trio of Indiana State players in double-figures with 24 Thursday afternoon, leading the Sycamores to an 81-69 win over Southern Illinois in the first round of the MVC Tournament.
 
Kennedy Claybrooks added 18 points and eight rebounds, while Amerie Flowers tacked on 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.
 
Indiana State was the aggressor from the start, with Kelsey, Flowers and Claybrooks combining for 20 points in the first quarter as the Trees led by two after the first 10 minutes. The Sycamore defense limited Southern Illinois to just six points in the second and took a 38-29 lead into the half. Southern Illinois responded with a run to pull within three after three quarters, but the Sycamores never trailed in the second half. A 13-2 fourth quarter run for the Sycamores put the game out of reach and sent Indiana State into the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.
 
First Half
Flowers and Kelsey got the scoring started for the Sycamores with baskets in the paint, with Kelsey later adding a trey to put the Blue and White ahead 12-10. SIU went on a 10-2 run to take a six-point lead, but the Sycamores responded with a run of their own. Jayci Allen's layup with three minutes left in the quarter started an 11-3 run for the Blue and White, as Claybrooks knocked down a three-ball and Flowers and Kelsey both converted on free throws. Flowers added a putback basket just before the horn to give Indiana State a 25-23 lead after one.
 
Indiana State put the clamps on in the second, limiting Southern Illinois to a 2-for-17 shooting performance in the quarter. Layups from Flowers and Kelsey, the latter's being a three-point play, put the Trees ahead 32-27 at the midway point of the period. Kelsey added a pair of layups late, and found Da'Naria Washington for one more with just over a minute remaining in the quarter as Indiana State took a 38-29 lead to the intermission.
 
Second Half
Free throws from Claybrooks and another basket from Flowers pushed Indiana State's lead to 13 less than a minute into the third. Baskets from Flowers and Kelsey kept the Sycamore lead in double-digits, before SIU made a run in the back half of the quarter. The Salukis went on a 9-1 run to pull within a pair, before free throws from Claybrooks and a second chance basket from Allen gave the Trees breathing room. Despite the late run from Southern Illinois, Indiana State maintained a 57-54 lead after three quarters.
 
Southern Illinois cut Indiana State's lead down to a point less than 90 seconds into the fourth quarter, but the Sycamores never relinquished their lead. Baskets from Washington and Kayla Smith ignited a 13-2 run for the Sycamores, with a Clemisha Prackett three-point play pushing Indiana State's lead back into double-digits. Claybrooks and Prackett added late layups, while Indiana State went 4-for-5 from the line down the stretch to extend its stay in the MVC Tournament at the expense of Southern Illinois, 81-69.
 
News and Notes: 

• Head coach Marc Mitchell earned his first conference tournament win at Indiana State.
• Thursday's win was Indiana State's first conference tournament since 2024. The Sycamores last two conference tournament wins have both come against Southern Illinois (66-54 in 2024, 81-69 in 2026).
• Indiana State reached double-digit wins for the fourth time in the last five seasons with Thursday's win.
• Tierney Kelsey recorded her team-leading sixth 20-point game of the season, finishing with 24.
• Amerie Flowers' 14 rebounds were her most since the season opener against IU Indy. Flowers had a double-double in the first half, with 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first 20 minutes of play.
• Kennedy Claybrooks was a game-high plus-16 in Thursday's game, with the senior guard going 9-for-10 from the charity stripe in the win.
• Indiana State finished with an advantage in points off turnovers (10-8), points in the paint (44-24), second chance points (15-8), fastbreak points (13-6) and bench points (16-11).
• Indiana State led for more than 33 minutes in Thursday's game, including the entirety of the second half.
• Indiana State imposed its will down low with a 44-24 advantage in points in the paint. The Sycamores also more than doubled Southern Illinois in free throws, going 23-for-33 from the line in Thursday's game.
• Southern Illinois' six points in the second quarter were the fewest by an Indiana State opponent in a quarter this season. The Salukis were 2-for-17 from the floor in the frame.
• Each of Indiana State's nine players who saw the floor finished with a positive or zero plus-minus rating.
• Indiana State improved to 4-1 this season when scoring 80-plus points and 6-1 when holding opponents below 70 points.
• The Sycamores moved to 10-4 when holding opponents below 40 percent from the field. Southern Illinois shot 28-for-71 (39.4 percent) against the Sycamores, including a 2-for-13 clip (15.4 percent) from 3-point range.

 
Postgame Press Conference: Marc Mitchell, Tierney Kelsey, Amerie Flowers


Up Next
Indiana State faces Murray State Friday at 1 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the MVC Tournament.

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