CEDAR FALLS, 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.
Shannon Thomas, who had game-high totals of 18 points and 14 rebounds, scored with 11:18 to go to give ISU its largest lead of the game, 48-34. The Thomas bucket followed a 3-pointer by Deja Mattox, who was the game’s top scorer after that shot with 14 points. Mattox finished with 15, including three 3-pointers.
“It’s huge, especially our first road trip. 4-0 is awesome,” Thomas told the Tribune-Star. “It gives us a lot of confidence. I feel like everyone contributed. I’m proud of us for keeping fighting and keep getting stops.”
Thomas also had three blocks and three assists for the Sycamores.
“I just wanted to do everything I could to help us win,” Thomas said. “Our guards kept their composure. We’re making good passes against the press.”
Schoen added 12 for the Sycamores, who shot 46.3 percent from the field.
Anna Munn made it a 7-0 run with a layup to put ISU ahead 50-34, but K.K. Armstrong answered with a 3-pointer and a layup to pull her team within 11 at 52-41.
Racheal Mahan tallied her sixth points of the game with a layup with 6:21 to go. Thomas scored for a 56-43 lead with 5:18 left. Mattox hit a 3-pointer with 3:22 left and Thomas converted inside with 1:49 to go, giving ISU a 63-56 advantage.
Northern Iowa continued to rally as Rachel Madrigal connected on a 3-pointer with 1:19 left, and Armstrong hit a two-point jumper to make it 65-62 with 53 seconds left.
“I felt like we were in control most of the game,” coach Teri Moren said. “Good teams like Northern Iowa, we talked all week about their ability to make runs. We’d have to match it. We’d win the game by defending and rebounding the ball. Did a great job of sticking to the gameplan.”
Natasha Zurek led the Sycamores in the first half with seven points, and freshman Jessica Valley came up big with a 3-pointer nine seconds before halftime.
With 12:52 to go, Zurek had four fouls, and Whitley Mattox and Schoen each had three. The Sycamores persevered.
“Britt played most of first half with two fouls, which I don’t normally do,” Moren said. “We felt we could play a little more zone. We stuck with our plan of staying man-to-man. Valley came in and played great. Mahan had a nice couple minutes. Just happy that we fought really hard on that end of the floor.”
INDIANA STATE (68) — Mattox 5-9 2-2 15, Thomas 7-12 4-4 18, Zurek 3-4 1-1 7, Schoen 4-12 2-2 12, Munn 1-4 0-0 2, Valley 1-3 1-2 4, Whitley 1-5 1-2 3, Rademacher 0-0 1-2 1, Mahan 3-5 0-0 6, Franklin 0-0 0-0 0. 25-54 FG, 12-15 FT. 68 TP.
NORTHERN IOWA (62) — Kirschbaum 3-7 0-1 6, Oney 4-11 3-4 14, Madrigal 7-11 1-2 16, Armstrong 6-16 3-5 17, Morgan 1-7 1-2 4, Lamar 1-7 1-2 4, Lamar 0-1 0-0 0, McDowell 1-4 2-3 4, Brown 0-3 1-2 1. 22-60 FG, 11-19 FT, 62 TP.
Halftime score — ISU 33-25. 3-point goals — ISU 6-19 (Mattox 3-6, Schoen 2-8, Valley 1-2, Munn 0-2, Whitley 0-1), UNI 7-25 (Oney 3-8, Armstrong 2-5, Morgan 1-4, Madrigal 1-3, McDowell 0-2, Brown 0-2, Lamar 0-1). Rebounds — ISU 36* (Thomas 14, Team RB 7*, Mattox, 3, Valley 3, Zurek 2, Schoen 2, Whitley 2, Munn, Mahan, Franklin), UNI 39* (Armstrong 10, Madrigal 8, Morgan 5, Kirschbaum 4, Oney 4, Team RB 4*, McDowell 3, Brown). Assists — ISU 12 (Thomas 3, Mattox 2, Zurek 2, Schoen 2, Valley, Whitley, Franklin), UNI 11 (Armstrong 5, Madrigal 2, Morgan 2, Oney, McDowell). Steals — ISU 7 (Thomas 2, Munn 2, Whitley 2, Mattox), UNI 7 (McDowell 2, Kirschbaum, Oney, Madrigal, Armstrong, Morgan). Blocks — ISU 5 (Thomas 3, Zurek, Schoen), UNI 6 (Madrigal 5, Kirschbaum). Turnovers — ISU 15 (Mattox 4, Munn 4, Thomas 2, Franklin 2, Zurek, Schoen, Valley), UNI 14 (Oney 3, Armstrong 3, Morgan 3, Kirschbaum, Madrigal, McDowell, Brown, Team TO). Total fouls — ISU 22, UNI 16. Fouled out — Zurek. Technical foul — Mattox. A — 901.
Next — ISU (10-6, 4-0) plays at Bradley and UNI (10-6, 3-2) plays host to Illinois State on Saturday.
Indiana State University
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Tribune-Star file/Jim Avelis Indiana State center Shannon Thomas, shown last week against Illinois State, dominated Northern Iowa with 18 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots.
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