TERRE HAUTE — It all came together for the Indiana State women’s basketball team in a nick of time Saturday against Creighton.
Unselfishness, focus, offensive variety and toughness. ISU might have only put it all together for three minutes and change against the Bluejays on Saturday at Hulman Center, but it was enough to carry ISU to a 56-54 victory.
Shannon Thomas’ wide-open layup after a Deja Mattox drive-and-feed with 5.9 seconds left was the difference as the Sycamores out-scored the Bluejays 11-2 in the final 3:38 of the game to move to 2-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
“Today’s game shows the heart this team has. There’s seven freshmen, we lose a senior in Leah Phillips — someone who’s totally irreplaceable to this team. Who’s going to step up on what night? Hopefully, we can stay balanced,” ISU forward Kara Schilli said.
ISU struggled offensively until its final surge. Aside from Schilli, who had a career-high 17 points and played at a steady rate throughout, everyone else was inconsistent. Brittany Schoen, who started in place of injured Leah Phillips, was the only Sycamore aside from Schilli to shoot 50 percent or better from the field.
“Am I happy and thankful for the win? Yes.
“Am I disappointed in the way we played, executed and our lack of intensity? Yes, because we’ve been playing so well in those areas. If you look at it from opening tip to the end, we probably don’t deserve to win that game,” ISU coach Jim Wiedie said. “But we made enough plays and picked it up at the end to pull it out. It wasn’t pretty, but I’m not giving it back.”
Defensively, ISU did a good job against everyone but Creighton sharpshooter Kelsey Woodard, and Woodard’s individual effort was nearly enough the carry the Bluejays. She scored a game-high 27 points and made 7 of 12 from 3-point range, 6 of 9 made in the first half. She was the only Bluejay to crack double-digit scoring, however.
“It’s amazing sometimes when you do a scouting report, you talk about how one kid can kill you more than anybody, how you lose that kid so often,” said Wiedie on Woodard. “Away from the ball, the other [Creighton] kids, you couldn’t have asked for anything better [defensively].”
ISU was down 52-45 at the final media timeout and had failed to convert on six of its eight previous possessions. A Kelsey Luna 3-pointer broke the ice with 3:38 to go. Bianca Jarrett, who scored all nine of her points in the second half, followed with a smooth left-handed layup at the 2:54. Suddenly, Creighton’s lead was just 52-50 and the Hulman Center crowd was back in it.
ISU’s defense was stout in the final three minutes, and after Creighton was forced to heave a prayer on its subsequent possession, ISU went to work. The Sycamores worked the shot clock almost to the limit when Thomas found Schilli (who credited the pass to Schoen) on a perfectly-timed cut to the basket. Schilli converted, was fouled, and made the free throw with 1:57 left to give ISU a 53-52 lead, its first since the opening stages of the game.
“The dive had been wide-open because of the way Creighton was playing the ball screens, that’s how I got my first six points. It was a huge play. It finally got us going, we had the lead after struggling most of the game,” Schilli said.
Wiedie had high praise for his lone healthy senior.
“That’s maybe the best game she’s played ever. As aggressive as she was, looking to drive, looking to attack, some perimeter shots, on the boards. If that’s a sign of things to come, if we can get that production along with the others, we’ll be in good shape,” Wiedie said.
After ISU pushed its advantage to 54-52, Creighton tied it with 24 seconds left on a Woodard runner after Schilli had blocked a Kristina Voss layup attempt. ISU got the ball with the shot clock off and prepared to take the final shot.
ISU’s final conversion went according to plan — the Sycamores wanted Mattox to find Thomas in the post. How ISU got to that point was not on the drawing board. Creighton pressured Luna in the backcourt with a double-team and ISU had trouble getting into their half-court. Finally, Mattox got the ball at the top of the key and Creighton’s defense hadn’t yet recovered from the pressure.
Mattox drove the lane, drew a pair of Creighton defenders, and dished it to Thomas, who easily converted a wide-open look with 5.4 seconds left.
“Deja did a great job. We were just trying to move the ball around at the end. We went four out, one in looking for the post. We’ve been getting that look every game, so when my [defender] helped out, she dumped it to me and made an awesome pass. It was a great play,” Thomas said.
The play embodied the inability of ISU’s freshmen to get rattled. Mattox, who had an off-day with a 1 of 8 performance from the field, didn’t try to force the issue, she made the right pass to get ISU a higher percentage shot.
“Deja has had moments where she does force it, because she’s trying to make something positive happen. In that situation, she made a great read and Shannon’s got good hands, she caught it and was able to finish. It’s nice to see two freshmen doing that in that situation,” Wiedie said.
Creighton’s last gasp fell short when Chevelle Herring missed a runner in the lane at the buzzer.
“That’s a tough one for us to lose. We controlled the better part of the game, we just couldn’t finish it. Our team battled, they battled, we just made too many mistakes down the stretch,” Creighton coach Jim Flanery said.
ISU has a week to prepare for league favorite Illinois State. The Redbirds visit Hulman Center next Saturday. It is the first game of ISU and Servpro’s Fan Appreciation Day.
Creighton 54
Player min fg 3pt ft r a pf tp
Neuvirth 36 2-6 2-4 2-2 13 4 2 8
Nelson 16 1-5 0-0 0-0 2 1 3 2
Voss 28 0-5 0-0 1-2 6 1 3 1
Woodard 40 10-18 7-12 0-0 9 3 2 27
Herring 35 3-12 0-6 2-2 1 2 2 8
Rhoten 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Moore 36 3-5 0-0 0-0 4 1 2 6
Crites 7 1-3 0-1 0-0 2 2 1 2
Totals 20-54 9-23 5-6 39* 14 15 54
Indiana State 56
Player min fg 3pt ft r a pf tp
Mattox 31 1-8 0-2 1-3 1 1 1 3
Schilli 31 6-10 1-1 4-5 5 1 2 17
Cooley 19 1-4 0-0 3-4 2 0 3 5
Schoen 31 3-5 1-3 0-0 1 4 3 7
Luna 37 2-5 2-2 2-2 2 3 1 8
Jarrett 17 4-11 0-2 1-1 5 1 2 9
Thomas 25 3-7 0-0 1-2 6 1 1 7
Mullins 5 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 0 0 0
Burton 4 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 20-52 4-11 12-17 28* 11 13 56
Halftime score — CU 30, ISU 24. FG Pct. — CU .370, ISU .385. 3-pt FG Pct. — CU .391, ISU .364. FT Pct. — CU .833, ISU .706. Turnovers — CU 16, ISU 10. Steals — CU 5 (Neuvirth, Woodard 2), ISU 9 (Luna 3). Blocks — CU 1 (Neuvirth 1), ISU 4 (Mattox, Schilli, Cooley, Thomas 1). (*) Team Rebounds — CU 2, ISU 5. Att — 3,356.
Next — ISU (6-7, 2-0) plays host to Illinois State next Saturday. Creighton (5-8, 0-2) plays host to Missouri State on Thursday.
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Sycamores get go-ahead basket with 5.9 seconds left
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