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February 27, 2007 INDIANA STATE EARNS KEY VICTORY OVER UNI, 78-54 TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Indiana State University Lady Sycamores took control early and stayed in front, defeating the visiting Northern Iowa Panthers 78-54 Friday night in the Hulman Center. The Sycamores won their fourth straight game in improving to 16-10 overall and 9-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Indiana State will close out the regular season home slate on Sunday when they entertain Bradley in a 2:05 p.m. tipoff. “I thought our defense and our rebounding, which has been the key to our success in the last five games, was good again tonight,” Jim Wiedie, head coach of the Sycamores said. “Our pace was very good right from the get-go. It was nice to see our offense get going early. We are taking better shots and our post players are playing at a higher level.” The Sycamore defense did not allow Northern Iowa a field goal in the first six minutes of the game and the offense took advantage, ISU leading 16-2 lead after Sarah Paul went down the lane for a lay-up, was fouled, and made the free throw with 14:35 left. Indiana State kept their lead in double digits for the rest of the half using their quickness to force 11 Panther turnovers. ISU was able to score 15 points off those turnovers. The Sycamores shot 51% from the field in the first half while holding the Panthers to just 23%. Indiana State maintained their hot shooting in the second half and did not allow Northern Iowa any chance to get back into the game. The Sycamores finished at 50% from the field while limiting Northern Iowa to just 27%. Four players reached double figures led by Kelsey Luna with 17 points including 4-of-8 shooting from three point range. Laura Rudolphi had 16 points with Rachel Maenpaa and Angela Phillips each scoring 12. Rudolphi and Paul had nine rebounds each to lead the Sycamores while Angela Phillips had nine assists. “That’s the best defensive job that anyone has done against (Tara) King and (Jessie) Biggs,” Tony Dicecco, head coach of Northern Iowa, said. “I’ve been around for a long time and in this league for 12 years and this was the best performance by a team that I have seen. If this was a prize fight, it would have been called early.” “I think we’ve got a whole lot more confidence since we know that we can stop their best players,” Maenpaa said. “Defensively, it is a pride thing. This was the fifth game in a row that we have had 40 rebounds and we kind of like that feeling.” Laura Rudolphi added that the key has been a switch from an offensive minded team to a defensive minded one. “We have really played a lot better since we became more focused on our defense and let our defense initiate the offense instead of the other way around,” Rudolphi said.
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