Seniors lead the way for Sycamores

The Indiana State women's basketball team defeated Bradley, 77-60, Friday night at the Hulman Center.

With the win, the Sycamores ended a six-game losing streak and improved their record to 11-12 overall and 5-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Meanwhile, the Braves drop to 13-11 overall and 4-8 in the conference.

The seniors led the way for the Sycamores as center Shannon Thomas, forward Deja Mattox and guard Brittany Schoen all scored in double figures.

Mattox led the way in the first half, scoring 11 of her 16 points in the period. Thomas took over the lead-role in the second half and finished the game with a double-double, tossing in a game-high 24 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Schoen, who moved into second on ISU's all-time 3-point shooting list, scored 11 points in the game. Bradley sophomore guard Catie O'Leary led the Braves throughout, finishing with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.  

Mattox got things going early for the Sycamores, scoring the first five points for her team and continued to attack throughout the first half. Despite outrebounding the Braves in the half by a 30-18 margin (17 coming from the offensive end), the Sycamores shot a cold 26.5 percent from the field and 14.3 percent from behind the arc and headed to the locker room at halftime with a 2-point, 29-27 deficit.

"There were possessions where we simply didn't run anything," ISU head coach Teri Moren said of her team's poor shooting and inability to get easy buckets.

The Sycamores came out of the gates firing as they started the second half on a 6-0 run to gain the lead before Bradley junior guard Brooke Bisping hit a layup at the 17:54 mark.

"The first five minutes in the second half is where the game changed," Moren said.

"The momentum totally shifted in the second half," Bradley head coach Paula Buscher added. "They were super aggressive in the first few minutes of the second half, where we were the aggressors in the first half."

Thomas was able to pace the Sycamores throughout the remainder of the half, dominating the paint and controlling the glass. ISU was able to extend their lead out to 15 points at the 3:40 mark thanks to a 3-point jumper from sophomore guard Anna Munn. Schoen, Mattox and Munn combined to sink six consecutive free throws in the final minute of play, assuring the victory for ISU.