Indiana State senior Kelsey Luna poured in a career-high 37 points, topping the 1,000 career points milestone, as she led the Sycamores to a 77-73 win over Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan.  The win was head coach Jim Wiedie's 156th career victory, which ties him for the most wins in Indiana State coaching history.  Illinois State outscored UCLA 8-3 in the final 90 seconds to pull out a 61-55 victory over UCLA in the Hawkeye Challenge in Iowa City, Iowa.  The Redbirds had four players score in double-figures, including Maggie Krick (15), Nicolle Lewis (12), Ashleen Bracey (11) and Shala Jackson (10).  In Saturday's final game around the Valley, Missouri State fell victim to a tough Georgetown defense, as the Lady Bears lost their season-opening game to the Hoyas, 79-55.  Missouri State was held without a field goal for nearly 13 minutes spanning the end of the opening half and the first 7:12 of the second period to build a lead that the cold-shooting Lady Bears could not overcome.

INDIANA STATE 77, KANSAS STATE 73
MANHATTAN, Kan. - Behind a career night from senior guard Kelsey Luna, Indiana State posted a 77-73 win over Kansas State and improved to 1-0 in front of 4,045 fans at Bramlage Coliseum on Saturday evening. Luna, who had a career-high 37 points on the night in 38 minutes of work, smashed the coveted 1,000 career points milestone in the first game of her senior season.  The returning All-MVC honoree now stands at 1,019 points over the last three-plus years at Indiana State.

Luna went 15-for-21 in field goal range and 5-for-6 in free throws, while adding a pair of 3-point shots, to finish as one of three Sycamore scorers in double figures.  Junior Kelsie Cooley notched 12 points, and sophomore Deja Mattox, who finished with 11, was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.  The duo added six rebounds apiece, while freshman Moriah Hodge chipped in six boards of her own.  Sophomore Shannon Thomas also had a team-leading seven rebounds and a game-high four blocks before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.

With the win, head coach Jim Wiedie also reached a major accomplishment in his 10-year coaching career with his 156th victory.  The mark ties former Sycamore coach Edith Godleski (156-116) for the most wins in a women's basketball coaching tenure at ISU, as Wiedie now sits at 156-108.  With a win at Furman next Thursday, he will surpass Godleski on the all-time list to become the winningest coach in program history.

Indiana State's stellar defensive effort held Kansas State to just 21 points in the first half, only two of which came from All-Big 12 selection Ashley Sweat.  The senior finished with 16 points and was one of four Wildcats in double figures with scoring, along with Kari Kincaid (16), Shalin Spani (15) and Jalana Childs (14).  Freshman Taelor Karr also notched nine points in her collegiate debut for the Wildcats. 

Indiana State jumped out to an early lead in the opening minutes of the contest and never looked back, refusing to forfeit its lead the entire game. Thomas opened with a layup at 19:46 and added a block before Luna rattled off three field goals to go up 8-3 at just after the first media timeout. Luna totaled 15 points in the first half, while freshman Taylor Whitley chipped in four free throws, to give ISU at 35-21 cushion heading into the locker room at the half.

Luna and Mattox came out firing in the second half, with Mattox hitting a two-point shot and a trey to make it 42-24. Luna's second layup of the half put her at 1,001 career points and extended the Sycamore lead to 46-28. She then added a free throw and two more layups to make it 51-36, followed by a 12 more points to lead the offensive effort and surpass her previous career record of 28 points in a game.

But K-State would not back down, as the Wildcats rallied with a 14-7 run in the final minutes, led by a pair of 3-pointers from Kincaid. Sweat then had two straight jumpers, followed by two-point shots from both Childs and Kincaid in the closing minute to cut the margin to four points. In the three-minute span, KSU also had five fouls, and the Sycamores responded with 7-for-8 shooting from the charity stripe to keep the hopes of a win alive. Karr put up a last-second 3-point shot attempt, but it was not enough, and the Sycamores left with a 77-73 victory.


ILLINOIS STATE 61, UCLA 55
IOWA CITY, Iowa - In a second half full of momentum changing moments, Illinois State (1-0) made the final run to beat UCLA (0-1) in the KCRG-TV9 Hawkeye Challenge, 61-55, Saturday afternoon. The Redbirds outscored the Bruins 8-3 in the final 90 seconds to pull out the victory. ISU takes on Iowa in the Hawkeye Challenge championship game tomorrow at 2 p.m.

Illinois State bounced back from a tough offensive first half to shoot 43 percent and make 18 free throws in the second half. The Redbirds had four players score in double-figures, led by senior Maggie Krick's 15 points. Senior Nicolle Lewis recorded the 11th double-double of her career with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Senior Ashleen Bracey added 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, and junior Shala Jackson chipped in 10 points.

The first half lacked offensive punch early, with the Redbirds leading, 15-12, midway through. UCLA took advantage of a five-minute Redbird scoring drought to pull ahead, 18-15, with eight minutes to go in the half.

A three-point play by Bracey gave the Redbirds a one-point edge, but they went more than three minutes without a basket again. Krick snapped the scoring drought with a jumper and ISU grabbed the defensive rebound on the ensuing UCLA possession and found Jackson wide open behind the defense for a transition layup.

Hanley gave the Redbirds a lift going into the locker room, scoring off an offensive rebound and then drawing a charge on the other end to preserve a four-point lead, 27-23.

Trailing by one early in the second half, ISU went on a 15-3 run to take its largest lead, 46-35, with nine minutes left in the game. UCLA committed five fouls and ISU made six free throws during the run. The Redbirds gave three of those fouls back in the next UCLA possession and the Bruins cut five points out of the deficit.

A three-point play by Darxia Morris, as she was fouled on a layup, erased the double-digit deficit and tied the game at 51. The Bruins erased the 11-point Redbird lead with a 16-5 run, forcing six ISU turnovers.

With the score tied at 53, Bracey made the biggest shot of the game, nailing a three-pointer from the left side with 90 seconds remaining. The Bruins came right back down the floor for a layup, but the Redbirds made five free throws in the last minute to preserve the win.


GEORGETOWN 79, MISSOURI STATE 55
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Missouri State Lady Bears fell victim to a strong defensive effort by visiting Georgetown Saturday afternoon, dropping a 79-55 decision in their season opener at JQH Arena. The Hoyas held MSU without a field goal for nearly 13 minutes spanning the end of the opening half and the first 7:12 of the second period to build a lead that the cold-shooting Lady Bears could not overcome.

Georgetown, which shot .485 from the floor, limited the Lady Bears to just 30.4 percent shooting for the game, including a 4-of-19 showing from beyond the three-point arc, and forced 25 MSU turnovers.

After a Whitney Edie basket with 4:38 remaining in the first half cut the Lady Bear deficit to 26-21, the Hoyas turned up the defensive pressure to outscore MSU 9-1 to close the half as part of a 16-5 run over the final 6:28 of the period that resulted in a 35-22 GU lead heading into the locker room.

Adria Crawford and Sugar Rodgers accounted for 17 of Georgetown's first half points, as the Hoyas shot .444 (16-of-36) for the period. The visitors also enjoyed a sizable advantage on the boards, outrebounding the Lady Bears by a 25-15 margin that included a 12 to 8 advantage on the offensive glass.

Georgetown picked up right where it left off to begin the second half, using a 15-3 spurt over the first seven minutes of the stanza to build a 50-25 lead.

But the Lady Bears weren't quite done, twice clawing to within 14 points in the closing minutes. Trailing 53-33 with just under 10 minutes to play, Casey Garrison sparked MSU with field goals on successive possessions, followed by four straight points from freshman Christiana Shorter to make it a 53-39 game.

GU came right back, getting a three from Monica McNutt and a pair of free throws from Rodgers before MSU would respond with two Regan Soldner charity tosses and a triple from Melissa Busby with 8:24 to go that brought the Lady Bears to within 58-44.

Georgetown again had an answer, as two three-pointers by Rubylee Wright and another by Latia McGee sparked a 14-2 run that spelled doom for Missouri State. The Hoyas expanded their lead to 26 with just under five minutes to play and the Lady Bears would get no closer than 22 the rest of the way.

The lopsided loss came on the heels of a promising start for Missouri State, as the Lady Bears broke out of the gate with a Jaleshia Roberson three-pointer from the top of the key on their first possession, then stretched their advantage to 8-2 on back-to-back baskets by Garrison.

Georgetown (1-0) would go to work on the defensive end to climb back into the game. The Hoyas would hold MSU scoreless for nearly five minutes as part of a 7-0 run that gave the visitors an 11-10 lead with just over 12 minutes to play in the half. Crawford and Rodgers combined for all seven of GU's points during the spurt and 11 of the Hoyas first 13 in all.

Rodgers led all scorers in her first collegiate game, totaling 21 points to lead four Hoyas in double digits.

Garrison led MSU with 15 points to go along with six assists and six boards. Shorter also posted a strong debut, finishing with 12 points and four steals in her first game as a Lady Bear.