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11, 2006 INDIANA STATE OUT-SHOOTS SIU-EDWARDSVILLE EN ROUTE TO EXHIBITION VICTORY BOX SCORE (HTML) or BOX SCORE (PDF) TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Thunder and Lightening. Fire and Ice. Not matter what you may call the Sycamore’s starting backcourt of junior Angela Phillips and sophomore Annie Bankhead, the results are a success. Phillips and Bankhead took control of tonight’s (Nov. 8) exhibition early and didn’t let go until the Sycamores’ had secured an 85-72 victory at Hulman Center over SIU-Edwardsville. ISU finishes the exhibition season with a perfect 2-0 record. Bankhead paced the Sycamores with 18 points and five rebounds plus a trio of steals in the win. She hit 5-of-10 shots from the field and drained a way-down-town 3-pointer in the game’s second half that sparked the Sycamore run which ended any thoughts of a Cougar comeback. Phillips drained 16, dished out eight assists and produced two steals. She hit 4-of-13 shots, including a pair of triples and was a perfect 6-of-6 at the charity stripe. Bankhead and Phillips spearheaded a Sycamore press that forced 24 SIU-E turnovers and converted them into 19 ISU points. “I was pleased with Annie [Bankhead] and Angie’s [Phillips] effort on defense,” commented head coach Jim Wiedie. “I love the fire of Annie and Angie; we need that from the whole squad. Angela played 38 minutes and stayed strong at the end. It is very comforting as a coach to know that we have those two playing so hard for us right now in our full-court defense.” After a slow first half yielded the Sycamores a small continuous lead which kept the teams neck-and-neck, the Sycamores once again exhibited a strong second half to take the win, 85-72. In their first exhibition contest of the season, Nov. 4 against St. Joseph’s, the Sycamores and Pumas were tied at 38 at the half, before ISU pulled away for a 20-point victory late. Within the second minute of the game, the first basket was made for the Sycamores by freshman Laurence Rivest and quickly countered by a 3-pointer from SIU-Edwardsville’s Whitney Sykes. The score stayed relatively low in the first ten minutes with both teams trading more missed baskets than made. It seemed that the Sycamores hit their stride and rattled off consecutive points with nine minutes left in the first half after an ISU timeout. SIU was able to move the ball around well, and hit six first half 3-pointers that kept the game close, with SIU never trailing far behind. With three minutes to go before the break, the Sycamores once again went on a series of scoring runs which put them ahead ten, 40-30. The first half switched from a series of runs by the Sycamores, to a series of runs by SIU, leading the Sycamores to take a 44-39 advantage heading into the locker room. Bankhead led in the first half with eleven points and Angela Phillips followed close behind with ten. The Sycamores had a better second half scoring and pressing to keep the Cougars at bay. Sykes started out the second stanza with a 3-pointer for the Cougars that eventually led to a 46-46 tie with 17 minutes left. However, SIU-Edwardsville didn’t get to hang on to the hopes of pulling ahead for very long. The Sycamores pulled ahead eight points with 16 minutes showing on the clock and the Cougars unable to get much going offensively. The pace quickly changed in the twelfth minute as a new confidence rose in the Sycamores, scoring quick buckets and keeping the ball away from SIU-E’s basket. “We are doing a great job of pushing the tempo and making the other team react to us instead of it being the other way,” Phillips said. “Our defense is setting up what we are able to do offensively.” The game ended on a high note for the Sycamores as a 3-pointer was made late by junior Anne Thatcher to give them a 12-point lead that would turn into a 13-point advantage with a lay-up by freshman Maria Olsthoorn in the game’s final seconds to make the final score 85-72. That 13-point advantage was the Sycamores’ largest in the contest. In the contest, ISU hit 44.8% of their shots (30-67) and connected on five 3-pointers. SIUE hit 39.1% of their shots, including eight 3-pointers. The Cougars out-rebounded the Sycamores by a 46-43 count, with SIUE pulling down 18 offensive rebounds in the game. “I am pretty disappointed with this team’s defense,” Bankhead said. “We have got to get better at boxing out and work harder in our half court defense if we are going to be ready to compete next week at Iowa.” After starting the preseason short-handed, the Sycamores are starting to get their players back from illness and injury. Sophomore Leah Phillips is still out after having her tonsils removed last week while sophomore Tiffany Reida awaits back surgery and freshman Heather Seyfred continues to recover from knee surgery this past spring. Rivest was cleared to compete by the NCAA Clearinghouse this afternoon, and immediately joined the Sycamore starting lineup. Freshman Kelsey Luna rejoined the squad for yesterday’s practice following a bout with mono. In just her second day of action, she scored four points, posted two assists and a pair of steals. “Kelsey did a good job out there tonight for not having played for three weeks,” Wiedie noticed. “She was playing so strong out of preseason camp, and got sick, but has battled back. When she gets healthy, she will be a major force for us this year.” The Sycamores start the season off with a bang, as ISU travels to Iowa next Wednesday, November 15. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:35 p.m (ET). ISU is the second of five Missouri Valley Conference teams that will face off versus the Hawkeyes this year. Missouri State opens with Iowa on November 11.
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