Box Score SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Indiana State Women's Basketball couldn't hang with the Missouri State Lady Bears following a tough night on the court, falling 75-41 Thursday night inside JQH Arena.
The Sycamores combined for a season-low 25 percent from the floor and made just 14 shots in the entire game. They committed 24 turnovers leading to 26 Missouri State points and were outrebounded, 46-36.
Redshirt senior guard Cierra Ceazer led with nine points while grabbing seven rebounds and redshirt junior forward Joyea Marshall posted her 10th game in double-digit rebounds with 11. Redshirt sophomore guard Brooklyn Artis came off the bench for eight points while freshman guard Jennifer Mackowiak added eight as well. Freshman forward Regan Wentland also added a career-high five steals.
Indiana State struggled from start to finish, as its 16 points in the first half tied a season low in a 20 minute period. The Sycamores went much of the first half in a scoring drought with a collective 9:22 in the first half spent in a slump. Freshman guard Tierra Webb picked up three fouls in the first ten minutes, ending the quarter on a sour note with a charge call as her team trailed 19-9.
The trouble didn't stop there, though, as the Bears outscored the Sycamores 24-7 in the second quarter and ISU racked up 14 turnovers on a 19.4 percent clip before the half. The Sycamores matched its lowest scoring half this season as it combined for just 16 points at half, trailing 43-16.
Ceazer was the lone bright spot as she battled for six points and grabbed seven rebounds in the opening half while Marshall grabbed eight of her 11 in the first two quarters. The Sycamores scored 25 combined points in the second half as six ISU players scored three points or less in the loss.
GAME CHANGER
Indiana State's offense shot just 25 percent on the night and committed 24 turnovers, which was one shy of a season-high and the fifth time with 20-plus this season.
WHAT WELLS THOUGHT…
“I felt like the way we prepared and the way we had been playing lately certainly wouldn't have led to Missouri State manhandling us tonight,” ISU head coach Joey Wells said. “The turnovers really crushed us, offensively we were bad and the energy level was low. We will find out what we're really made of come Saturday because we are still playing for a top-5 spot in the MVC Tournament.”
SYCAMORE LEADERS
Points – C. Ceazer (9)
Rebounds – J. Marshall (11)
Assists – A. Taia (2)
Steals – R. Wentland (5)
Blocks – R. Wentland/J. Marshall (2)
ABOUT THE SQUAD
Field Goal % - 25.0
3-Point FG % - 21.4
Free Throw % -77.8
Rebounds - 36
Assists – 8
Steals – 9
RECORDS
Indiana State: 13-15, 9-8 MVC
Missouri State: 20-9, 13-4 MVC
IMPORTANT NUMBERS
5 – Indiana State drops its fifth-straight game to the Missouri State Bears in the series
10 – Redshirt junior forward Joyea Marshall had her 10th game in double-digit rebounds, grabbing 11 on the night.
16 – 16 points in the first half ties the fewest points in a half for the Sycamores this season
25.0 – The Sycamores combined for a 25 percent field goal clip on the night, its lowest of the season and lowest since Feb. 20, 2015
UP NEXT
The regular season comes to a close as Indiana State visits Wichita State on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. inside Koch Arena and will be live on The Valley on ESPN3.
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.
