ISU women erase 17-point deficit to rout IU Indy 86-74

A 17-point deficit sent a jolt through the Indiana State Sycamores midway through the second quarter of Tuesday night's women's college basketball game against visiting IU Indianapolis in Hulman Center. ISU had just finished a three-game road trip, capped by rugged losses to power-conference foes Seton Hall and Rutgers. And now, the Sycamores were back home, trailing the visiting Jaguars 34-17 with 6 minutes and 17 seconds left in the second quarter. "In the first half, I think they were just manhandling us," ISU coach Marc Mitchell said. Indeed, after 20 minutes, his Sycamores were down 45-35. By game's end, Indiana State had completely overwhelmed IU Indy for an 86-74 win. The victory featured 14 steals by ISU, including seven by hustling guard Aaliyah Youngblood, who also scored 17 points off the bench. Fellow reserve Amerie Flowers delivered a statistical double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Their uprising included a 38-5 run in the second half. The Sycamores got aggressive on the boards after getting outrebounded 32-14 in the first half. ISU grabbed 26 in the second half to IU Indy's 17. "I made that a point of emphasis at halftime — 'You've got to toughen up,'" Mitchell said. The Sycamores did, raising their season record to 1-3 going into Friday's 7 p.m. game against Wright State in Hulman Center. The Jaguars fell to 1-2. ISU and IUI played basket-for-basket through most of the first quarter, with six lead changes. But the Jaguars began a surge when Julia Hall rebounded her own missed shot and sank a go-ahead layup for a 14-13 lead with 2 minutes, 22 seconds before the break. IUI closed the quarter on a 12-0 run, including a 3-pointer and three-point play by high-scoring guard Olivia Smith, to lead 23-13 after one period of play. Action intensified just 39 seconds into the second quarter, when ISU point guard Eanae Dagons stole the ball from IUI's Smith. A tangle for possession led to Dagons' ejection on a flagrant-2 foul, while Smith was called for a flagrant-1 foul. Smith went to the bench for the rest of the quarter, but later started the second half. The exchange put a spark in the Sycamores as they responded with layups by Flowers and Youngblood, pulling within 24-17. It was a short lull for IUI, as the Jaguars pushed the pace for a 10-0 run, featuring Destini Craig's banked hook shot on a three-point play. ISU ended the first half strong, mounting a 10-3 run highlighted by Ashley Singhateh's rainbow 3-pointer and Karsen Marshall's buzzer-beater 3. That put the Sycamores within 10 points, down 45-35 at the half. "We're as one. That was an unfortunate situation," Mitchell said of Dagons' departure. "Instead of burying our heads you-know-where, we rose to the occasion." He added, "We really wanted to get it for [Eanae]." Smith returned to the game with a bang for IU Indy. As the Sycamores sliced the margin to nine points on two Kristen McMillan layups and a Marshall 3-pointer, Smith answered with three 3s to leave ISU down 54-42 with 6:46 to go in the third period. Then the tide turned. The Sycamores' defense tormented the Jaguars on two steals by Youngblood and another by Heaven Shockley, setting up ISU baskets. The Sycamores were within six at 54-48 with 4:12 left in the third. That flurry didn't stop. ISU closed the quarter on a 19-2 explosion generated by a trio of steals, including two more by Youngblood. The Sycamores tied the score at 55-55 on Singhateh's layup, followed instantly by Youngblood stealing the IUI inbound pass and dropping in her own layup. ISU took a 61-57 lead on back-to-back 3-pointers from Youngblood with 21 seconds left in the third and then Singhateh's 3 at the buzzer. ISU controlled the fourth quarter, iced with 12 unanswered points to stretch its edge to 80-59 and then rolling to the 86-74 finish. Smith finished with a game-high 22 points for IU Indy, but the Jaguars committed a hefty 23 turnovers, mostly agitated by the Sycamores' defense. Indiana State scored 18 points off IU Indy turnovers. Flowers and Youngblood were joined in double figures by Marshall with 13 points, Singhateh with 12 (along with eight assists) and Saroiya Ajomale with 11. The second half showed ISU's potential, Flowers said. It showed hints of the tough challenge the Sycamores gave to Seton Hall of the Big East and Rutgers of the Big Ten last weekend. "In the first half, we weren't physical. We weren't the team that played Seton Hall and Rutgers [hard]," Flowers said. "But in the second half, we picked it back up, we put it together and we got after it. So, we just need to stay consistent and do that every single time." IU INDIANAPOLIS (74) — Craig 2-8 5-8 9, Hall 3-12 3-6 10, Adams 3-5 0-0 6, Sipla 3-6 3-4 9, Smith 8-17 2-3 22, Flynn 2-3 1-2 6, Brennen 0-3 0-0 0, Wilkison 1-2 0-1 2, Williams 3-6 4-4 10. Totals 25-62 FG, 18-28 FT, 74 TP. INDIANA STATE (86) — McMillan 2-3 0-0 4, Ajomale 4-7 2-2 11, Singhateh 3-10 5-8 12, Marshall 4-8 2-3 13, Dagons 0-1 0-0 0, Williams 3-5 0-0 6, Youngblood 6-18 4-5 17, Allen 0-2 0-0 0, Flowers 8-17 2-3 18, Schultz 0-1 0-0 0, Schultz 0-1 0-0 0, Shockley 2-3 1-2 5, Peagler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-75 FG, 16-23 FT, 86 TP. IU Indy 24 21 12 17 — 74 Indiana State 13 22 26 25 — 86 3-pointers — IUI 6-19 (Smith 4, Flynn 1, Hall 1), ISU 6-15 (Marshall 3, Ajomale 1, Singhateh 1, Youngblood 1); Rebounds IUI 49 (Hall 12, Sipla 10, Smith 6), ISU 40 (Flowers 12, Singhateh 4, Marshall 4); Assists IUI 10 (Smith 6, Craig 4), ISU 14 (Singhateh 8, Youngblood 3); Steals IUI 7 (Sipla 3), ISU 14 (Youngblood 7, Singhateh 2), Fouls IUI 22, ISU 22; Turnovers IUI 23, ISU 12. Att — 781. Next — ISU (1-3) plays host to Wright State at 7 p.m. Friday. IUI (1-2) plays at Morehead State on Sunday.