WC Indiana News

Lights-out shooting leads Sycamores over Racers

Bella Finnegan scored a career-high 26 points Friday night and Del'Janae Williams added 17, propelling Indiana State past Murray State, 82-71, inside CFSB Center.

 

Chelsea Cain also finished in double-figures for the Sycamores with 13 points and seven rebounds, while Indiana State shot a season-best 63.5 percent from the floor and 61.5 percent from distance. Finnegan had seven rebounds and three assists in addition to her 26 points.

 

Indiana State got out to a strong start from the field, and the offensive attack carried throughout the game for the Sycamores. The Blue and White never trailed by more than four, with a Finnegan basket inside the final minute of the opening half putting the Sycamores ahead for good. Indiana State shot 70 percent from the field in the last 20 minutes, building up a double-digit lead behind eight third-quarter points from Cain and 12 in the fourth from Finnegan. The Sycamores scored 20-plus points in three of the four quarters to complete their season sweep of Murray State.  

 

First Half

Williams got things started for the Sycamores with a pair of 3-pointers, followed by baskets from Finnegan and Cain as Indiana State took an early 13-10 lead. Murray State answered with a run to take its largest lead of the game at 19-15, but the Sycamores answered with consecutive baskets from Mya Glanton, Caitlin Anderson and Cain to go back in front. A last-second basket down low by Lily Niebuhr gave Indiana State a 23-22 lead heading into the second.

 

Cain opened the second quarter with a fastbreak layup, with Williams and Finnegan adding baskets to keep Indiana State in front. Consecutive layups from Niebuhr and Anderson, along with a Finnegan fastbreak bucket, put the Trees up 35-32 late in the quarter. Murray State managed to tie the score, but Finnegan gave the Sycamores the lead just before halftime with a jumper inside the final minute. Indiana State took a slim 37-35 lead into the intermission.  

 

Second Half

Indiana State's offense was clicking in the second half, as the Sycamores quickly extended their lead to five with a 3-pointer by Anna McKendree and a jumper from Cain. The Trees pushed their advantage even further following makes from Finnegan and Young, making it a 51-42 lead. Murray State cut Indiana State's lead to three, but the Sycamores responded with a pair of Cain baskets and a three-point play from Williams to make it a 58-48 game. Murray State closed the quarter strong, but Indiana State took a 58-53 lead into the fourth.

 

The fourth quarter proved to be Indiana State's best from the field, as the Sycamores made eight of their 10 shots in the period. Glanton converted on back-to-back baskets down low, and Finnegan followed with a 3-pointer as the Trees pushed their lead to 65-58 midway through. Another Finnegan three-ball just before the media timeout put the Sycamores ahead by double-digits, and it remained that way for the final four-plus minutes. McKendree and Finnegan each added another 3-pointer late in the game to help Indiana State close out its fifth MVC win of the season.

Inside the Numbers

     •Indiana State's 63.5 percent clip from the field was its first time shooting over 60 percent from the field in a game since Nov. 28, 2016 at Eastern Illinois (35-for-58, 60.3). It's the highest shooting percentage in a game for the Sycamores since going 40-for-59 (67.8 percent) against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 18, 2006.

     •Indiana State shot better than 50 percent from beyond the arc (8-for-13, 61.5) for the first time since last season's Hoops in the Heartland quarterfinal against Southern Illinois (Mar. 11, 2022 - 6-for-12, 50.0).

     •Bella Finnegan's career-high 26-point performance came on 11-for-16 shooting and 3-for-3 from 3-point range. The 11 field goals and three 3-pointers were both career-highs.

     •Indiana State was plus-14 in rebound margin (32-18), its best in a game since the opening weekend of conference play. Murray State's 18 rebounds were by far the fewest by a Sycamore opponent in a game this season.

     •Indiana State outscored Murray State in all four quarters Friday (23-22, 14-13, 21-18, 24-18), the second time the Sycamores have done so in a conference game this season (at Bradley, Jan. 22, 2023).

 

News & Notes

     •Friday's win over Murray State gave head coach Chad Killinger his 300th career win as a collegiate head coach. Killinger's journey to the milestone mark included head coaching stints at Jacksonville College (32 wins), Lincoln Trail College (91), Moberly Area CC (147), East Carolina (9 – interim HC) and Indiana State (21).

     •Indiana State completed a season sweep of an opponent (62-56 in Terre Haute, 82-71 in Murray) for the first time since sweeping Bradley last season (73-57 in Terre Haute, 83-63 in Peoria).

     •Friday's win gave Indiana State consecutive seasons with double-digit wins for the first time since the 2017-18 (11) and 2018-19 (11) seasons.

     •Four of Indiana State's five conference wins this season have come on the road following Friday's victory over Murray State.

     •Del'Janae Williams currently stands six points away from reaching 1,000 points for her career. Williams would become the 29th player in program history to score 1,000 points at Indiana State, and the first since the 2014-15 season.

Original source can be found here.