TERRE HAUTE, Ind. ? For the Indiana State women's basketball team, everything old could be new again. And at least for today, it was. Using the press and drilling the 3-point shot, the Sycamores resembled past championship teams by forcing 21 Wichita State turnovers and hitting nine 3-point field goals en route to downing the Shockers by a score of 69-50 at Hulman Center.

ISU pulled their record back to even at 12-12, 6-8 MVC while Wichita State fell to 9-17, 3-11 MVC.

The Sycamores used 21 Wichita State miscues to create 19 points playing almost the entire the game in a full-court pressing defense, just as head coach Jim Wiedie's teams did earlier in the decade. ISU was paced by three steals from Kelsey Luna, while Leah Phillips, Keslie Cooley, Kara Schilli and Laura Rudolphi also each added a pilfer in the decisive victory.

“This is back to the way we used to play, we have not been like ourselves this season,” Schilli commented after the game. “Hopefully we are peaking at the right time because we have four big games left in the season plus tournament time. That always seems to be an interesting event, so we hope to carry this effort into our upcoming road trip (against Drake and Creighton) and fight for position in the tournament.”

And in a season in which ISU has struggled to eclipse the 35% mark from 3-point territory, the Sycamores found their stroke versus Wichita State by hitting 9-of-18 attempts from long range, as Angela Phillips, Leah Phillips and Kelsey Luna drilled three triples each.

Added to the mix was a strong inside game, as senior center Laura Rudolphi continued her tear with 17 points to pace the Sycamores. Rudolphi came into the game, riding the momentum of a career-best 27 point effort versus Missouri State on Thursday night.

Indiana State led the game by six points at the half, 30-24 as ISU hit 11-of-14 attempts from the free throw line.

“We played the first half the way that we wanted by holding the game in the 20's and 30's,” Wichita State head coach Jane Albright said. “And then we made some adjustments at halftime, and didn't quite execute them the way that we had planned. That was the best game (Indiana State) has played in quite a while, so it has to be a good feeling for (coach Wiedie).”

But it was the first moments of the second half that really pushed the Sycamores ahead of the Shockers as ISU scored each of the first ten points after the break to jump out to a quick 40-24 advantage.

“Every game coach Wiedie tells us to come out and really take it to the opponent in the first five minutes of the second half and set the tone,” Luna said. “And today we finally got it, and figured it out. I guess it turns out that he was right as usual. It was nice to come out and set the tone as best we could and take control of the game early in the second half.”

A 3-pointer by Angela Phillips kept the run going to make it 43-24 with 16:48 to go in the game. Wichita's Jennifer DeGarmo cut the advantage back down to 16 points, but Luna was able to answer with just over 15 minutes left to go by connecting on a trey of her own after Maria Olsthoorn momentarily bobbled the ball to take a 46-27 lead.

Indiana State was able to hold Wichita's Kiki Stephens to just zero points in the first half, but she hit back-to-back buckets near the 10 minute mark of the second half to get the Shocks within 12 points at 48-36. That would be as close as WSU would get as the Sycamores got a jumper by Angela Phillips and then Luna hit another triple after not getting a shot off in the first half to take a 53-36 lead.

The Sycamore advantage spiked at 21 points on a running jumper by Annie Bankhead at 62-41 with 4:43 left in the game.

“I don't think we could have asked for a better homestand defensively with the press,” Wiedie said. “It carried over into the halfcourt, and it helped that we shot well. That always seems to fuel our defense. The other thing is our assistant coaches did a great job scouting this week and the kids went out and followed the game plan and that is why we were successful.”

Rudolphi led all scorers with 17 points, hitting 6-of-10 field goals while she was 5-of-5 at the free throw line. Angela Phillips added 13, while Leah Phillips posted 12 and Luna added 11.

Schilli paced the team with five assists, tying her career-high in that category for the second consecutive game. She also paced the team with seven rebounds.

Jacie Hoyt led Wichita State with 11 points, while the Sycamores were able to hold Stephens to just six points; all of which were scored in the second half.

The score was tied just once, at 2-2, and ISU led the rest of the way. The Sycamores won for the eighth time in its last nine chances against Wichita State, and defended their home court versus the Shockers for the fifth straight meeting.

Indiana State returns to action on Friday, February 29 when they travel to Drake. Tip-off at the Drake Knapp Center is set for 8:05 p.m. (EST).