DETROIT, Mich.—Senior forward
Sabrina Brandon (Danville, Illinois) scored a season-high 17 points and brought down six rebounds as the University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team pulled out a 72-69 victory over Wayne State University Tuesday evening.
Brandon scored 13 of USI's final 15 points, including all of USI's points in a 7-0 run that lifted the Screaming Eagles to a 66-59 advantage late in the contest.
Despite the run, the Eagles found themselves clinging to a 68-66 advantage with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game. Brandon, however, came up with a big steal before converting on a pair of free throws that put the game out of reach for the Warriors.
"Sabrina is such a major factor for this team, not just as a scorer and rebounder, but as a leader," Head Coach
Rick Stein said in his post-game interview with Andrew Bolin on WSWI AM 820.
Brandon, who was 9-of-10 from the charity stripe, was one of many Eagles making trips to the free throw line Tuesday evening. USI, which was 24-of-33 from the free throw line, finished the game with a 15-point advantage from the line.
"I thought we were really aggressive going to the basket, especially in the second half," Stein said. "I was really pleased on how aggressive we were in the second half."
USI's aggressiveness Tuesday night lifted it to its eighth straight victory, the longest winning streak for the Eagles since they won 10 straight in 2001-02.
The Eagles (8-1) also got another great performance out of junior forward
Jasmine Baines (Jeffersonville, Indiana), who finished the game with 16 points and six rebounds. Senior forward/center
Sarah Buldtman (Metropolis, Illinois) added eight points and six rebounds.
Wayne State (3-6) was led by senior guard Cherita Smith, who scored 15 points, and junior guard/forward Nicole Rogers, who added 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
USI and Wayne State meet again December 30 in the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge in Edwardsville, Illinois. The Eagles play Ferris State University December 29 prior to the rematch with the Warriors.
