QUAD CITIES - No. 9 seed Valparaiso beat No. 8 seed Indiana State for the first time since joining the Missouri Valley Conference and it came at the best time possible for the Crusaders.

All five starters scored in double figures, led by Meredith Hamlet's 25 points, and Valparaiso rallied from an early 13-point deficit to beat Indiana State 79-77 in the opening round of the MVC tournament.

After four ties and eight lead changes in the back-and-forth game, Valpo went ahead for good with a 6-0 run that Addison Stoller started with a driving layup, pulling the Crusaders ahead 77-71 with 59.8 seconds left.

Indiana State clawed back, drawing to 79-77 on Regan Wentland's putback with 10.5 seconds remaining and getting the ball back when Tamara Lee forced a tie-up with 9.4 seconds to play. But the Sycamores could not get off a final shot and Shay Frederick's steal in the final second secured the victory for the Crusaders, who won for the first time this season after trailing at halftime.

Stoller and Ella Ellenson each scored 13 points for Valparaiso (8-23), Grace Hales scored 11 and Frederick 10. Valparaiso will play No. 21 Drake, the regular-season Valley champion, in the quarterfinals at noon Friday.

Ashli O'Neal led Indiana State (11-19) with 26 points, Lee scored a career-high 25 and Ty Battle recorded her fifth double-double of the season -- three of them against Valpo -- with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Trailing 35-30 at halftime, Valparaiso got back in it with a 28-point third quarter, when the Crusaders sank 10 of 14 shots. They shot 72.7 percent in the second half and 51.8 percent for the game, just the second time this season they've been above 50 percent.
 
Indiana State could not hold on after jumping to a 20-7 lead and finish the season with six straight losses. The Sycamores lost their opening game in the MVC tournament for the fifth straight year.