| Box Score (html version)
Lewis (3-3, 1-0 GLVC): 72
Southern Indiana (5-2, 0-1 GLVC): 53

ROMEOVILLE, Ill.—A slow offensive start to the second half was too much for the University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team to overcome as it fell to Lewis University, 72-53, in its Great Lakes Valley Conference opener Thursday evening.

The Screaming Eagles (5-2, 0-1 GLVC) were on the opposite end of an 18-1 run that saw the Flyers turn a 28-27 advantage with just over 18 minutes to play into a commanding 46-28 lead nearly six minutes later.

Behind a 10-3 spurt, the Eagles cut the Flyer's advantage to 11 with nine minutes to play in the game, but a 14-1 run later in the half allowed the Flyers to extend their advantage to 65-41 with just under five minutes remaining in the contest.

Lewis (3-3, 1-0 GLVC), the defending GLVC Tournament champions, shot 60 percent from the field in the second period after shooting just 29 percent in the opening period.

After trailing by just a point, 26-25, at the break, the Eagles biggest blow arguably came when their leading scorer, freshman forward/center Anna Hackert, was forced to sit the bench after picking up her fourth foul less than three minutes into the second period. Hackert, who finished with two points and five rebounds, was limited to just 12 minutes of action after picking up three fouls in the first half and fouling out with 10 minutes to play in the game.

“Obviously it seems like we've had a few times in the last four games were fouls have affected us,” Head Coach Rick Stein said. “One of our goals is to limit ourselves to 18 fouls and we had 25 tonight. We've got to play smarter defense.”

Sophomore forward/center Nicole Hazemi picked up the slack, scoring a team-high 14 points to go with seven rebounds. Freshman forward Brooke Valentine added 10 points and seven rebounds, while freshman forward/center Mary O'Keefe chipped in nine points and a pair of blocks.

For the second straight game, the Eagles struggled from three-point range as they connected on just 2-of-13 shots from behind the arc.

“We really had a hard time finding any sort of rhythm offensively,” Stein said on his post-game radio show with WPSR's Michael Robertson. “We got some good looks, but couldn't get the ball to go through the hoop.

“I don't think there's any question our kids kept fighting,” Stein continued, “but we didn't play our best basketball tonight.”

USI returns to action Saturday at 1 p.m. when it visits No. 15 University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Somers, Wisconsin. The Rangers (5-2, 0-1 GLVC) were upset by Kentucky Wesleyan College, 68-67, Thursday evening in Somers.