TERRE HAUTE, Ind. ? At Hulman Center, it is usually the Indiana State women's basketball team that drains 3-pointers from all over the court, but for this game, it was visiting Northern Iowa that found their stroke from the outside. The Sycamores overcame 11 3-point field goals by the Panthers to win 73-69 in overtime in front of 3,210 fans.
ISU, who swept this weekend's homestand against Bradley and Northern Iowa, improved to 8-6, 2-2 MVC while the Panthers fell to 5-9, 0-3 MVC.
UNI was hot throughout the game from the outside, hitting 11-of-24 shots from 3-point range, while the Sycamores were just 2-of-13. Danielle Wubbens paced UNI with 16 points, connecting on 4-of-6 triples. Annie Bankhead and Kelsey Luna each hit one 3-pointer for the Sycamores.
But the Sycamores were paced inside instead by the play of senior center Laura Rudolphi, who posted a career-high 26 points in the victory. The school's all-time blocked shots leader, Rudolphi was credited with three in the game, none bigger than her swat of a Jacqui Kalin shot with one second showing on the clock which kept the score tied at 63 each at the end of regulation.
Rudolphi's lay-up off a pass from Angela Phillips with 26 seconds left in the second half knotted the score at 63 after UNI's Alexa Mennen connected on a lay-up of her own with 1:46 left to push the Panthers up by two points.
In the overtime, Rudolphi hit a jumper for the Sycamores just 10 seconds into the extra frame for a 65-63 lead. Rudolphi added pair of free throws to bump the lead up to four points.
After Nicole Clausen cut the lead down to 67-65, Annie Bankhead hit a pair of free throws to make it 69-65 again. Danielle Wubbens, found her way to the charity stripe next and cut the lead down to 69-67 with 2:28 left in the game.
The parade to the free throw line continued as Kara Schilli made it 71-67 on a pair of free throws after she was fouled on a fast break opportunity. Up just two points, 69-67, Schilli came up with a steal in the press off Kalin to help expand the advantage.
The Panthers' Mennen posted a pair of free throws with 39 seconds left to trim the ISU lead down to 71-69.
After a UNI timeout, Bankhead misfired on a 3-pointer, but Kara Schilli grabbed the offensive rebound with five seconds showing on the clock and was able to throw the ball out of bounds off a Panther player. The Sycamores got the ball in to Angela Phillips, who was fouled and then hit a pair of free throws for the 73-69 victory.
Rudolphi was joined in double figures by Kelsey Luna and Angela Phillips, who scored 10 points each. Rudolphi was 10-of-15 from the field, plus 6-of-8 from the free throw line in the win. She added eight rebounds, plus three blocks and three steals in 37 minutes of action.
Luna scored 10, but fouled out in the overtime period. She was the first Sycamore this season to foul out of a game.
Overall, Indiana State was 25-of-29 at the free throw line while UNI was just 6-of-13. ISU forced 21 Panther turnovers and was able to convert then into 23 points. The game was tight throughout as the score was tied nine times and changed hands on 14 occasions.
The Panthers grabbed an early seven point lead with 13:02 left in the opening stanza, 14-7, but ISU actually also led by seven points with 2:56 left before intermission before UNI was able to cut it down to just 36-34 at the half.
The Sycamores return to action on Saturday, January 19 when they travel to league-leading Illinois State. Tip-off versus the Redbirds is set for 5:05 p.m. (EST) and can be heard live on WISU-FM 89.7.
