at Southern Indiana (17-6, 8-4 GLVC): 81
Rockhurst (6-16, 2-12 GLVC): 71
Box Score
EVANSVILLE, Ind.—Not that the University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team needed any reminders, but nothing comes easy in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, especially wins in February.
Saturday's game against Rockhurst University was no different as the Screaming Eagles overcame a four-point deficit in the final 16 seconds of regulation to force overtime, where they pulled out an 81-71 victory over the visiting Hawks to clinch a spot in the GLVC Tournament.
Despite owning a four-point lead with two minutes to play, the Eagles found themselves trailing 68-64 after a pair of Rockhurst free throws.
Junior guard Amie Newhart took the ensuing inbounds pass and went coast-to-coast before connecting on a lay-up and drawing a foul in the process. Newhart made the free throw to trim the Hawks' lead to a single digit; then fouled Rockhurst's Valerie Zamora with seven seconds to play after USI Head Coach Rick Stein spent the team's final timeout of regulation.
Zamora connected on the first shot to give the Hawks a 69-67 lead, but missed on the second attempt, giving the Eagles a chance to tie the contest.
Senior guard/forward Abby Williams collected the rebound off the missed free throw and kicked the ball out to Newhart, who, once again, went coast-to-coast to score the game-tying layup and send the contest into the extra period.
USI (17-6, 8-4 GLVC), which held the Hawks without a field goal in the overtime period, took a 71-69 lead on a pair of Ellen Young free throws. Senior forward Anaris Sickles and sophomore forward/center Ashton Mertens scored USI's next four points as the Eagles extended their lead to 75-70.
Young, who finished the contest with a game-high 19 points, went 8-of-8 from the free throw line and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe in overtime as USI pulled away for its second straight win. The junior guard scored 15 points following the intermission as the Eagles overcame a 40-38 halftime advantage.
USI, which trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half, used a tenacious defensive effort in the final period to claw its way back into the contest. The Eagles held the Hawks to just one field goal and three-points throughout the first eight minutes of the second half as they stormed back to tie the contest at 43-43.
Rockhurst (6-16, 2-12 GLVC) ended the Eagles' run with six straight points to retake the lead, but a 10-2 USI run gave the Eagles a 53-51 lead with just under seven minutes to play. Sickles aided the Eagles in the surge that gave USI its first lead since the opening stages of the contest by scoring six of her 11 points.
With the score tied at 60-60 with three minutes to play in regulation, Young hit a pair of free throws and a layup to give USI what was then its largest lead of the game.
Young, who had six rebounds and four steals, was one of four USI players to score in double figures. Newhart finished with 18 points and six rebounds as she moved into 14th all-time at USI with 862 career points. Sickles added six rebounds and four assists to her 11 points, while Williams chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds.
USI, which is eighth in the latest NCAA II Midwest Region rankings, returns to action Tuesday when it travels to Springfield, Missouri, to take on regionally-ranked Drury University. Tip-off for the contest, which was originally scheduled for January 18, is slated for 5:45 p.m.
