|
January 13, 2007 INDIANA STATE GETS BETTER WITH HOT SHOOTING TO DOWN WICHITA STATE TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Indiana State women’s basketball team entered Hulman Center sick from a three-game losing skid, and got just what the doctor ordered with a 96-63 victory over visiting Wichita State on Saturday afternoon. The Sycamores improve to 10-7, 3-3 MVC while the Shockers fall to 6-9, 1-4 MVC. Indiana State found its cure with a smothering press that forced 24 Wichita State turnovers which translated into 30 Sycamore points. ISU also cured their recent ills by hitting 54.8% of their shots, including a 10-of-18 blazing mark from the 3-point line (a 55.6% clip.) The Sycamores entered the game having dropped each of their last three games, its longest losing skid since opening the 2004-05 Missouri Valley season with a 0-3 record. It avoided the four-game snide by placing four scorers in double figures, paced by a Valley season-best 20 points from freshman Kelsey Luna. “I thought we have let teams push us around a little bit the last three games,” head coach Jim Wiedie said. “It’s time to stop taking it and start initiating it. I thought our defensive intensity was pretty good. I thought our kids did a great job.” Luna played 27 minutes in the game and hit 6-of-11 shots from the field, including five 3-pointers in posting 20. Senior Rachel Maenpaa scored 14 points, hitting 6-of-11 shots and pulling down nine rebounds. Leah Phillips added 13 with a pair of treys while Laura Rudolphi scored 11 points, despite only playing 13 minutes because of foul trouble in the first half. With the large margin that reached as many as 35 points in the second half, 11 different Sycamores saw double figure minutes in the game. Off the bench, freshman Laurence Rivest posted a career-best six points with four rebounds in the win. Overall, ISU improved it showing of late on the boards, pulling down 42 rebounds, including 16 on the offensive end. ISU was able to convert that into 21 second chance points. The Shockers, who were forced to play without senior Antoinette Wells, due to a suspension for fighting in WSU’s last game versus Illinois State, pulled down just 35 rebounds in the game. “Some people might look at the final score and say Antoinette didn’t play so that’s why we did so well,” Wiedie commented. “We were able to harass their guards in the press and sustain our energy level. If you can get teams down early, or doubting themselves, that’s half the battle. You can tell by Wichita’s pace that the wind was taken out of them.” In a game in which the Sycamores never trailed, ISU jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead in the first two minutes. Rudolphi scored four of the Sycamores’ first four points while Leah Phillips scored three to help ISU to the early lead. The ISU advantage peaked at 22 in the first half with a 47-25 lead and just one minute left on the clock before intermission. Luna’s third trey of the first half gave ISU that lead. Wichita’s Kristen Donnell hit a jumper with two seconds left to send the teams into the break at 47-27. ISU came out of the gates quick with four points in the first minute of the second stanza led off by a jumper from Maenpaa and followed by a driving lay-up from Annie Bankhead. The Sycamore advantage peaked at 35 with on two occasions, first on a lay-up from Kara Schilli to make the score 90-55 with 2:46 left, and finally on the fifth 3-pointer of the day from Luna to make the score 96-61 as the clock ticked towards 30 seconds left in the game. Junior Anne Thatcher played her best game of the season as she scored six points, both off 3-pointers in 12 minutes of action. Indiana State returns to action on Friday, January 19 when they host league leading Illinois State at Hulman Center. Tip-off is set for 8:37 p.m. (EST). All tickets for this game will be just $1 as part of the Big Blue Blowout Sale, sponsored by the ISU Women’s Basketball Team.
|