November 28, 2006
Women’s Basketball
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

INDIANA STATE RATTLES THE RAMBLERS, 101-71

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TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State hit the century mark for a school-record third time in its 101-71 win over the Loyola Ramblers at Hulman Center.  The Sycamores were led by Rachel Maenpaa with 20 points on 10-of-11 shooting. The win improves ISU to 3-2 on the season, while the Ramblers drop to 0-5.

“Offensively we played pretty well,” head coach Jim Wiedie said. “It is nice to get contributions from every player, be it scoring, rebounding or defense.  Our young kids continue to play well and get better every game.  I am really pleased with Rachel and her game. Rudi did an outstanding job and it was nice to see both respond.”

Indiana State got off to a sluggish start, failing to hit a shot in the first three minutes of the game.  Maenpaa would record a lay-up with 14:05 on the clock to tie the game at 12 and then began a scoring run that would end with a 51-35 advantage going into the half.

The Sycamores started a trend in the first half with 32 points in the paint and 29 points from the bench.  Maenpaa, Kelsey Luna and Laura Rudolphi each poured in 10 points over the course of the first 20 minutes to pace the team.  Loyola’s Jenna Real led all first half scorers with 12.

Indiana State’s young players saw plenty of action in the second half and stretched the lead to as many as 32 in the waning seconds of the game on a 3-pointer by freshman Kelsey Luna with 1:36 left, as well as an additional free throw at the 48 second mark to make the score 101-69. LUC’s Julie Colhoff drilled a jumper with 15 seconds left to yield the final score of 101-71. Indiana State played out the final two minutes of the game with five freshmen on the floor.

The Sycamore bench continues to be its strength as they out-scored the Rambler bench by a wide 49-11 mark. ISU pounded the ball inside continually during the evening, posting 62 points in the paint. Indiana State out-rebounded the Ramblers 35-31.

Maenpaa hit 10-of-11 shots from the field to score her game-high 20 points. Rudolphi was 6-of-12 from the field, and added 7-of-9 free throws to score a career-best 19 points and pull down a career-high tying 11 rebounds. It was the first double-double of Rudolphi’s career.

Moving the ball around efficiently, junior Angela Phillips dished out a career-best nine assists to go with her 13 points and a pair of steals. Sophomore Annie Bankhead tossed a career-high seven assists to go with four steals and five points.

The late game star was freshman Kelsey Luna, who continues to build upon a solid start to her freshman season. One day after being named the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week, she posted 18 points by hitting a blazing 5-of-7 shots from the field, including a trio of 3-pointers. Sophomore Leah Phillips was red-hot as well, hitting 3-of-4 attempts from long range for nine points.

For the game, the Sycamores hit 56.7% of their shots, including a 61.3% clip in the first period.

The Sycamores return to action on Saturday, December 2 when they travel to Indianapolis to take on Valparaiso in the State Farm Hoosier Classic. Tip-off at Hinkle Fieldhouse has been moved to 1:00 p.m. (ET).

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