Billy Carson knew he had a good point guard in Illyssa Vivo and the South Florida Lady Jaguars’ AAU coach had a plan to land her somewhere in the Division I women’s basketball ranks.
His plan ultimately took Vivo from sunny Broward County, Fla., to Vigo County. Carson confirmed that Vivo has made a verbal commitment to play basketball at Indiana State.
“Her getting [to Indiana State] was me doing some internet recruiting,” Carson said. “I put together a highlight video and sent it out to places I thought might be a good place for her. Indiana State bid on it, contacted me and we sent some more game tape. After they saw the game tape, they got excited.”
Vivo, who stands 5-foot-8, averaged 8.5 points, 3.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game for American Heritage High School in Plantation, Fla. She also shot 47.1 percent from 3-point range.
Vivo played on a 24-5 American Heritage team that made it to Florida’s Elite Eight. She played along side LSU recruit Bianca Lutley and Wake Forest recruit Sandra Garcia, both were bigs that Vivo was charged with feeding in the post.
“[The ISU coaching staff] came down, saw some practices and saw a game. They were very excited. Once the family made their visit there, they fell in love with the scenery of the campus and the environment when they came. They’ve been mulling it over for about a month or so before they made their choice,” said Carson, who said Vivo garnered interest from Western Kentucky and Mississippi, among others.
Carson praised Vivo’s ability to get to the basket, but was more effusive in praising her work ethic.
“One thing that hits you right off the bat is she’s a hard worker. She doesn’t take off one drill, that’s what impressed me most when she came into this program. She’ll run through a brick wall,” Carson said. “Everything is ‘yes coach’, ‘no coach’. She’s very coachable. She’s explosive off the dribble and can get to the rack against the bigs. She makes the game exciting.”
Vivo was not able to reached for comment in time for this story.
Vivo joins guards Nikki Gunning and Anna Munn in ISU’s 2010 recruiting class. As per NCAA rules, ISU’s coaching staff is not permitted to comment on recruits until they sign their letter of intent.
College
Florida guard says she'll play for ISU women's basketball
Illyssa Vivo averaged 8.5 points, 3.6 assists per game as senior
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Sycamore women looking to snap six-game losing streak
The Indiana State women’s basketball team is in dire need of a victory in Hulman Center this weekend.
Bradley visits Terre Haute tonight looking to sweep the season series from the Sycamores, who are in jeopardy of the program’s first seven-game losing streak since the 1995-96 season.
“I think it should [add to motivation]. There’s no doubt that group in the locker room in there is very disappointed,” Coach Teri Moren said. “As I keep saying, we’re in a rough patch right now, and there’s no group of kids that wants to get right back on track more than they do.” -
Leonard dominates in first half, but IU, Zeller earn the victory
The first half belonged to Illinois’ Meyers Leonard.
The win belonged to Indiana and Cody Zeller.
The 23rd-ranked Hoosiers (19-6, 7-6 Big Ten) took advantage of a glaring free-throw discrepancy to defeat the Illini 84-71 on Thursday. -
MVC’s worst a tantalizing option for ISU
Even though the Indiana State men’s basketball team has played better of late, having won three of its last four games, there’s only one team with a worse record in the Missouri Valley Conference standings than the Sycamores.
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Sycamores can’t stop Stutz, Shockers
All or nothing. It was that kind of game for Wichita State center Garrett Stutz. Unfortunately for Indiana State’s men’s basketball team, the “all” came in the second half.
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McWhorter’s fortunes rise with ISU’s
More so than any other Sycamore, Steve McWhorter might embody the decline and the recent rise of the Indiana State men’s basketball team.
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Johnson dominates again for ISU track
Felisha Johnson continued to dominate women’s weight throw while two Indiana State hurdlers moved into today’s finals after solid performances in the preliminaries Friday at the Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame.
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Indiana State women lose at Illinois State
Playing short-handed again, Indiana State’s women suffered their sixth straight Missouri Valley Conference basketball loss Friday night, falling 78-67 to host Illinois State.
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Indiana, Purdue meet with both looking to regain momentum
Indiana University’s stint in the Top 25 may be coming to an end. Purdue is just looking for a winning streak.
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ISU women looking to end five-game losing streak at Illinois State
Within a few points in the final minutes, Indiana State had chances to win women’s basketball games at Missouri State and Wichita State last weekend.
But the Sycamores lost for the fourth and fifth straight games, also losing freshman Jessica Valley for the season at Wichita State. The promising backcourt player tore the ACL in her right knee and began strengthening exercises this week in order to make plans for surgery. -
ISU Senior Day game to be televised on ESPN
The Missouri Valley Conference announced Thursday that Indiana State’s regular season finale against No. 12-ranked Creighton on Feb. 25 in Hulman Center has been chosen as the MVC’s “wild card” game that will be telecast on either ESPN or ESPN2.
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Hoosiers load up on in-state players
With a 1-11 record in his first season as IU football coach, Kevin Wilson knew there were a lot of holes to fill in terms of personnel.
- Wabash Valley verbal commitments
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It’s on: Sycamores, Bulldogs to play at Hinkle on Feb. 18
How badly did Indiana State want to get Butler as its BracketBusters opponent?
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METRO ROUNDUP: Four from Rose receive weekly honors
Four Rose-Hulman athletes earned Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference weekly honors, the HCAC announced Monday.
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Hoosiers reclaim needed offensive momentum
Indiana hadn’t allowed an opponent to shoot better than 40 percent in three straight games heading into Sunday’s home game against Iowa.
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Sycamores will have to match Aces’ toughness
Indiana State men’s basketball coach Greg Lansing has an enduring respect for the toughness Evansville coach Marty Simmons coaxes out of his Purple Aces.
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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Rose, The Woods post weekend victories
Rose-Hulman relied on a balanced scoring attack and a strong defensive effort to earn a 55-44 women’s basketball victory Saturday over Mount St. Joseph.
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ISU's Stacia Weatherford sets school record in 60-meter hurdles
Indiana State junior Stacia Weatherford set the school record in the women’s 60-meter hurdles, while sophomore Greggmar Swift dominated the action in the men’s 60 hurdles during competition Saturday at the Indiana Relays.
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Rose takes first in Engineer Track and Field Invitational
Rose-Hulman relied on nine event victories, 13 top-two finishes and three school records for a strong performance at the ninth annual Engineer Track and Field Invitational on Saturday.
The men’s squad captured first place honors in a meet that featured two of the nation's top 20 NCAA Division III squads and 12 institutions from seven states. The day’s competition also included 10 meet records. -
Mattox’s 31 not enough for ISU women
Indiana State pulled within 63-57 with a 6-0 run with 8 minutes, 50 seconds remaining Friday night at JQH Arena, but the Sycamores lost 84-70 to host Missouri State in a Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball game.
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Mattox, Sycamores staying positive on road trip to Missouri State, Wichita State
Indiana State seniors Brittany Schoen and Deja Mattox are within striking distance of passing 1,000 points in their women’s basketball careers, and they would join classmate Shannon Thomas in that club. Schoen needs just 16 points, while Mattox is 89 points away.
But Mattox has been on a roll of late, scoring a team-high 15.1 points through ISU’s 4-3 start to Missouri Valley Conference play. -
IU triumphs
When Indiana’s Will Sheehey left the floor after receiving his second technical foul, the Hoosier fans cheered.
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ISU women nipped at buzzer
Creighton sophomore Carli Tritz — blanketed by Indiana State senior Brittany Schoen — had just two points at halftime Friday in Hulman Center.
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ISU needs to find chip on its shoulder
When one looks back at the totality of Indiana State’s 2010-11 men’s basketball season, there’s a recurrent theme that tied together the high points in a 20-14 campaign. A recurrent theme that might give ISU a lifeline in what has been a disappointing 2012 season.
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ISU women look to reverse recent trend vs. Creighton
The Creighton women’s basketball team has won three of their last four games in Hulman Center. While the Bluejays have been one of the winningest programs in the Missouri Valley Conference — with at least 12 league wins in seven of the last nine seasons — the Bluejays’ success in Terre Haute would need to end if the Sycamores want to show that their 4-1 start to league play is not a fluke.
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Hoosiers, Buckeyes meet after suffering upsets
Ohio State standout Jared Sullinger blames himself for the fifth-ranked Buckeyes’ most recent loss.
“There were times in the Illinois game where I just kind of took a break on the defensive end instead of the offensive end and it cost us,” Sullinger said, referring to a 79-74 setback on Tuesday. -
Rose drops pair to Transylvania
Transylvania withstood a second half charge by Rose-Hulman to earn a 60-46 men’s basketball victory in a battle of Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference co-leaders Saturday.
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Bradley shoots down ISU women
The Indiana State women’s basketball team ran into a hot-shooting Bradley team on Saturday afternoon, as the Sycamores dropped a road contest 79-58 inside the Renaissance Coliseum.
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Defense fails ISU again in loss at Southern Illinois
Defense wins championships. So what does lack of defense do?
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ISU women pick up big road win against defending champion Northern Iowa
Brittany Schoen hit a 3-pointer to begin the second half that put Indiana State ahead 36-25. The senior’s shot and ISU’s stingy defense helped the Sycamores pull ahead by as many as 16 in the second half on the way to a 68-62 triumph at Northern Iowa.
Indiana State moved into a tie for first place with a 4-0 record. - More College Headlines
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Sycamore women looking to snap six-game losing streak








