WARRENSBURG, Mo.—The University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team led 43-42 late in the game, but a scoring drought that lasted nearly five minutes was too much for the Screaming Eagles to overcome as they lost to the University of Central Missouri, 58-47, in their regular-season opener Wednesday evening.

During the scoring drought, the Jennies used a 10-0 run to build a 52-43 lead with less than a minute to play in the contest.

USI (0-1), which played without the services of senior guard Katie Thiesenhusen (Muskego, Wisconsin) and junior guard Missy Glaser (Evansville, Indiana), used a 7-0 run to end the first half and claim a 23-20 lead at the intermission. The Eagles built their lead to six throughout the first five minutes of the second period, but UCM (1-0) used an 11-2 run to claim its first lead (33-32) of the second half.

The Jennies built their lead to as many as four, but a 7-2 run gave the Eagles a 43-42 lead with 5:37 to play in the game.

Junior forward Jasmine Baines (Jeffersonville, Indiana) led the Eagles with 17 points and eight rebounds, while junior guard Marshay Jolly (Merrillville, Indiana) chipped in nine points and three rebounds. Senior forward Sabrina Brandon (Danville, Illinois) added eight points and eight rebounds.

UCM got a game-high 23 points out of Lindsey Maple, while Kim Battle led the Jennies with eight rebounds.

The Eagles return to action Tuesday when they open up their regular-season home schedule with the University of Illinois-Springfield. Tip-off is slated for 5:15 p.m.