TERRE HAUTE, Ind.—The Indiana State University women’s basketball team turned 29 University of Evansville turnovers into 33 points, and used a quick 9-1 run out of the halftime locker room to grab control of a defensive-minded contest Thursday en route to a 55-31 victory over the Purple Aces at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Indiana.

 

After holding just a 23-18 halftime advantage, the Sycamores scored nine of the first 10 points of the second half to grab a double-digit lead just four minutes into the second stanza. Freshman point guard Taylor Whitley scored four of her six points in the run and assisted on a Deja Mattox three-pointer to help Indiana State take control of the contest.

 

“We just got out-muscled tonight,” said UE head coach Misty Murphy. “A lot of times, we had the ball and Indiana State just ripped it out of our hands. Credit Indiana State because they just wanted it more today.

 

“If you would have told me before the game that we would hold Indiana State to just 55 points on 32.2 percent shooting from the floor, I would have thought that we would have a great chance to walk out victorious. But, when you commit 29 turnovers against just four assists offensively, you are not going to win too many games. And, I don’t think that the turnovers were necessarily all a result of their pressure. We had a lot of unforced turnovers tonight.”

 

Evansville’s turnovers set the tone for the contest in the first half, as UE committed 14 first-half miscues which led to 13 of Indiana State’s 23 points, as the Sycamores led at the break despite shooting just 23.3 percent from the floor. ISU would quickly hit three of its first four shots in the second half to build a 32-19 lead with 16:11 to play.

 

Evansville would eventually trim the lead to eight points, 32-24, with 11:53 to go on an Amy Gallagher lay-up, but after the teams traded empty possessions, a lay-up by ISU sophomore center Shannon Thomas with 10:56 to go would build the lead back to double-figures, 34-24. UE would not get any closer the rest of the way, as the Purple Aces were held to just seven points in the final 11 minutes of the contest.

 

Senior guard Kelsey Luna led Indiana State with 10 points, as she was the only player in the contest to reach double-figures. Gallagher paced UE with seven points and a season-best nine rebounds, while sophomore forward Chelsea Falkenstein added five points and seven boards off of the UE bench.

 

With the victory, Indiana State improves to 10-7 overall and 1-5 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Evansville, meanwhile, falls to 3-14 overall and 0-6 in the Valley. The Purple Aces will continue on its current two-game road trip on Saturday afternoon, as UE will travel to Normal, Illinois to battle defending MVC regular-season champion Illinois State (11-5, 4-1 MVC). Tip-off is set for 4:05 p.m. and the game can be heard live on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV directly following the conclusion of the UE men’s basketball game at Bradley (2:05 p.m. tip).