TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Freshman Shannon Thomas connected on 7-of-8 shots from the field and added five more free throws en route to pacing Indiana State with 19 points as the Sycamores earned an easy exhibition victory over Missouri-St. Louis, 82-38, in front of 2,677 fans at Hulman Center.
“That was a total team effort,” head coach Jim Wiedie stated. “It really didn't matter what combination of players we had on the floor, we were able to execute and score. I continue to be impressed with the play of our young players, especially with how well they played today on the defensive end.”
Thomas burst onto the scene versus the Tritons after scoring four points last week in the exhibition opener against Indianapolis. This week was a different story for the freshman from Springboro, Ohio as she posted eight points in the first half and then connected on three of her field goal attempts after the break to lead ISU with 19 points.
“Shannon is really starting to pick things up well,” Wiedie said. “I think our guards could get the ball inside to her even more. She is starting to show some really nice post moves, and is going to continue to get better as the season moves forward.”
Joining Thomas in double figures was junior Kelsey Luna, who parlayed a pair of 3-pointers and a perfect 6-of-6 mark from the charity stripe to score 12 points. Luna added six assists and a pair of steals in the victorious effort.
Freshman Deja Mattox continued to impress with nine points and seven rebounds while junior Sarah Paul posted nine points as well in the victory.
Indiana State out-rebounded UMSL by a 41-37 margin while they were able to record 10 steals and forced 26 Triton turnovers. ISU scored 30 points off those miscues while ISU's 11 turnovers yielded just five points for UMSL.
“The coaches have told us over and over that Indiana State has not been the best rebounding team in the league over the years,” Thomas stated. “We are making an extra effort to continue to improve in that area. Defensively, we played a pretty good game, but we hope to really build off this effort.”
One week after scoring just seven points off the bench against Indianapolis, those same corps of subs scored 43 points this time.
The Sycamores were effective at the free throw line as well in the game, hitting 31-of-35 attempts from the free throw line. ISU hit 40 percent of their attempts from the field and connected on 7-of-24 attempts from behind the 3-point line.
For UMSL, the Tritons were led in scoring by Kristi White, who scored 10 points, hitting 4-of-11 shots from the field. The Tritons were held to a 28 percent shooting percentage, hitting 14-of-50 from the field and were kept in check with no 3-pointers in the second half. The Sycamores were able to force four different Triton shot clock violations during the game.
After a pair of exhibition victories, the games start counting next week for ninth-year head coach Jim Wiedie and his Sycamores as they travel to Central Michigan on Saturday, November 15. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. (EDT) and can be heard live on WSDM 92.7 FM in the Wabash Valley.
