Box Score MOLINE, Ill. – The No. 3 seed Missouri State Bears overwhelmed the No. 6 seed Indiana State Women's Basketball team for the third time this season, ending its season in the Missouri Valley Conference quarterfinals with a 70-45 loss on Friday night at the iWireless Center.
Redshirt senior Cierra Ceazer led with a team-high 15 points as she reached double figures for the 24th time this season. Junior forward Rhagen Smith led with a game-high 11 rebounds while redshirt junior Kelsey Dirks notched her 51st block of the season and finishes ranked tied for fourth in a single season in program history.
Redshirt sophomore forward Ashley Taia added eight points while redshirt junior Joyea Marshall dished out four assists and grabbed six boards. The Sycamores shot just 30.4 percent in the season-ending loss, going the same percentage from 3-point range and just a 50 percent clip from the charity stripe. They were outrebounded, 39-36, and committed 19 turnovers.
Indiana State opened up play with back-to-back threes from Taia and Mackowiak before Missouri State cut it to one with 5:19 to play. Mackowiak answered the call with her second 3-pointer pointer of the day with 4:57 to play, but Indiana State went without a field goal for the final 4:57 of the quarter as a three-point play by Valley Player of the Year Tyonna Snow gave her team an 11-10 lead after one.
Marshall tied the game up in the second, connecting from long range with 6:45 to play. Missouri State used a 6-0 run in 45 seconds forcing a Sycamore timeout with 5:52 left before the break. Out of the timeout, Newbolt - who returned after a four-game hiatus with a concussion to play her final game on Friday - hit the runner in the lane and a Marshall pass to Smith on the baseline cut it the deficit down to two (21-19).
Ceazer kept it a one possession game as she finally got on the scoreboard with an offensive putback with 2:34 to play before halftime. The Sycamores faced a 31-23 deficit at the break and the second half didn't get much better as ISU combined for just 22 points in the final two quarters and shot a combined 27.6 percent. Ceazer would help the Sycamores cut the deficit down to five early in the third quarter, as she converted in the lane with 7:52 to play. But it wouldn't get any better from there as the Sycamores trailed by 15 at the end of the third quarter (48-33) and faced its largest deficit in the fourth quarter (26).
POSTGAME PRESSER
Hear from Coach Wells and Cierra Ceazer postgame: https://youtu.be/h_ksv44Tvg4
GAME CHANGER
A variety of factors played into the Sycamores' quarterfinal loss as it shot just 30.4 percent from the floor and 3-point line and got to the free throw line just eight times and shot 50 percent from the charity stripe. ISU also committed 19 turnovers in the loss which resulted in 22 points for Missouri State.
SYCAMORE LEADERS
Points – C. Ceazer (15)
Rebounds – R. Smith (11)
Assists – J. Marshall (4)
Steals – C. Ceazer (2)
Blocks – 4 players (1)
ABOUT THE SQUAD
Field Goal % - 31.1
3-Point FG % - 30.0
Free Throw % - 50.0
Rebounds -29
Assists – 8
Steals – 4
Blocks - 4
RECORDS
Indiana State: 13-17
Missouri State: 22-9
IMPORTANT NUMBERS
4 – Four careers come to a close after today's quarterfinal loss – Cierra Ceazer, Kelsey Dirks, Kalliste Haskins and Alexis Newbolt all finish their careers at Indiana State
11 – Junior forward Rhagen Smith reached a new career-high with 11 rebounds on Friday night
24 – Redshirt senior Cierra Ceazer recorded her 24th game of the season in double figures, leading ISU with 15 points and finished her career with 569 points scored as a Sycamore in two seasons
51 – Redshirt junior Kelsey Dirks finishes the season with 51 blocks, which ties for fourth most in a single season at ISU and the first time a Sycamore has reached 50+ since 2011-12
For the latest information on the Sycamore Women's Basketball team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
