SPRINGFIELD, Mo. ? Seniors Angela Phillips and Laura Rudolphi led Indiana State to its second consecutive victory over Missouri State, 78-55, in front of 5,429 loyal fans at Hammons Student Center on Sunday (Jan. 29) afternoon. The game marked the final time the Sycamores will appear at Hammons, as the Lady Bears will move to the new JQH Arena next season.

ISU improved to 9-8, 3-4 MVC while Missouri State fell to 6-13, 4-4 MVC.

Angela Phillips connected on six 3-pointers in the game to pace the team with 20 points. Phillips pulled the hot trigger on four trifectias in the first half as the Sycamores raced out to a 37-24 lead at the break.

“I thought our intensity level was excellent for the entire game,” head coach Jim Wiedie said. “Angela was a big key for us today by pushing the ball ahead and creating shots not only for herself, but also for her teammates.”

Rudolphi was right behind Phillips with 19 points, but it was a milestone game for her as she eclipsed the 1,000 career point mark in the first half. She is the 21^st Sycamore in the history of the program to join the 1,000 point club.

“Our guards were able to get the ball down low to our post players for most of the game,” Wiedie said. “It was nice to be able to get the ball inside the paint and get some wide-open opportunities near the basket.”

Indiana State raced out to a 14-3 lead behind a pair of 3-pointers from Angela Phillips and six quick points from Rudolphi.

The Lady Bears cut the Sycamore advantage to just three points at 23-20 on a fastbreak lay-up by Jackie Griggs with 4:31 left before the break. The Sycamores were able to finish the final four and half minutes of the first half on a 14-4 run to take a 37-24 halftime lead.

The highlight of the first half came with 5:33 left before intermission as Rudolphi scored her 1,000th career point on a bucket to break a four minute dry spell in the scoring column. After scoring her 1,000 point, Rudolphi came right back with another score on the next possession to stake the Sycamores to a 25-20 lead with 4:13 left.

The Sycamores were able extend their halftime lead out to 19 points right out of the second half gate on a 3-pointer by Kelsey Luna and three foul shots from Annie Bankhead for a 43-24 lead with 19 minutes left in the game.

A running jumper by Tahnee Balerio with 12:33 left in the game cut the Sycamore lead down to a second half low of 15 points at 57-42. It would mark the final field goal the Lady Bears would score until Tiff Terwelp's lay-up with 3:50 left in the game. During that stretch the Sycamores were able to hold the Lady Bears to just seven free throws as the lead ballooned to 74-50.

A trey by Luna with 4:41 showing on the clock gave the Sycamores its largest lead of the game, 74-47.

For the first time this season, the Sycamores eclipsed the 50% shooting mark as they hit 29-of-56 field goals for a blazing 51.8% clip. The Lady Bears hit just 27.9 % of their shots in the loss. The Sycamores hit 10-of-25 shots from long range in the game.

“It was nice to finally get some shots to fall for us,” head coach Jim Wiedie said. “We were able to create some great offensive opportunities because we were able to push the ball in transition. On the defensive end we communicated well and were able to do a good job on their scorers for most of the game.”

Angela Phillips added nine assists in the victory, tying a career-high to go along with her 20 points.

Luna joined Rudolphi and Phillips in double figures scoring with 17 points, hitting a trio of triples in the second half.

“This was another step forward for the team this season,” Wiedie said. “We have to be able to build on this game and hopefully we can come home and play well next week against two really tough teams.”

The win marked the first Valley road victory for the Sycamores this season, although Indiana State did hold a halftime lead in all three games of this most recent three-game roadswing.

ISU improved to a perfect 8-0 on the season when holding an opponent to less than 73 points. The win was just for the fourth all-time for Indiana State at Missouri State, two of which have come in each of the last two years.

For just the third time this month the Indiana State Sycamores will appear at Hulman Center when they return home to take on the Creighton Bluejays, Thursday, January 31. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. (ET).