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CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois women's basketball led by three at halftime, but Indiana State's Angela Phillips scored 21 of her team's 55 second-half points in an 85-76 Sycamore victory Thursday evening at Lantz Arena.
Eastern (0-7) made five more field goals, but the Sycamores (4-1) connected on 10 3-pointers and made 13 additional free throws. The Panthers shot a season-low 54 percent (14-of-26) at the charity stripe.
Phillips finished with a career-high 33 points, 15 coming from 3-point land and 10 more at the free throw line. The senior point guard was 9-of-13 from the field overall. She connected on a trio of 3-pointers during a 19-3 ISU run that changed game for good.
Eastern led 44-39 when the surge began. Four and a half minutes later, ISU was up 58-47. The Panthers' only points during that stretch came at the free throw line.
A Sims jumper with 7:23 remaining in the game pulled EIU within six, but a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer in transition quickly pushed the ISU advantage back to double-figures.
The Panthers played arguably their most complete game of the season in the loss. The first half saw a number of bench players make key contributions. Kloak connected on a pair of layups during a 7-0 surge that put EIU up for the rest of the half. However, every time it looked like the Panthers might extend the lead to double-figures, ISU answered.
Though they had just one field goal each in the first half,
Julie Lipperd and
Marie Baker both gave EIU active minutes off the bench. Both players held their own against Laura Rudolphli, holding ISU's top scorer a year ago scoreless in the first half. The duo also combined for eight rebounds in the contest.
The Panthers out rebounded ISU 39-32 and turned their 18 offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance points. And despite playing without
Rachel Galligan for the second game in a row, EIU enjoyed a 36-18 advantage in points in the paint.
But 10 of ISU's 24 field goals were 3-pointers, as the Sycamore lived by the 3. Leah Phillips connected on a trio of 3-pointers and finished with 16 points to complement her teammate of no relation.
Besides scoring 17 points, Sims also grabbed six rebounds and registered eight assists. Five of her boards came from the offensive glass.
With 3:47 left in the game and EIU trailing 70-61, Sims drove down the right side of the lane and connected on a layup. There was a whistle on the play and at first it appeared as though it would be a 3-point play opportunity. But the call went the other way, giving the ball back to ISU.
After milking some time off the clock, the Sycamores put the game away by making 11-of-12 at the free throw line in the final two-plus minutes of the contest.
The Panthers conclude their pre-conference schedule Saturday against Loyola. Tipoff time is slated for 7 p.m.
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Ben Turner, Asst. SID
