Southern Indiana (13-8, 9-4 GLVC): 62
at Rockhurst (4-17, 0-13 GLVC): 49
Box Score

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team used runs of 11-0 and 10-2 to earn a 62-49 victory over host Rockhurst University in a Great Lakes Valley Conference contest Friday evening.

USI (13-8, 9-4 GLVC) used its 11-0 run late in the first half to break a 15-15 tie and take control of the contest heading into the intermission. The Screaming Eagles, who led 26-19 at the break, used the 10-2 run early in the second half to extend their lead to 42-25 with just over 13 minutes to play.

Rockhurst (4-17, 0-13 GLVC), which trailed by five early in the second period, never got any closer than 11 points after USI's 10-2 run as the Eagles picked up their third straight win.

“It was physical from start to finish,” USI Head Coach Rick Stein said in his WPSR 90.7 FM post-game interview with Mitch Mullis. “I thought our kids hung in there and toughed it out.”

After scoring just 15 points throughout the first 16 minutes of the contest, senior guards Amie Newhart and Ellen Young took control of the game. Young went 6-of-6 from the free throw line, while Newhart scored five points during USI's 11-0 run that gave the Eagles their first double-digit lead.

Newhart, who scored 13 of her game-high 18 points in the second half, combined with senior guard Lauren Meneghetti to spark the Eagles during their 10-2 spurt. After Meneghetti began the run with a bucket, Newhart gave the Eagles a 37-23 advantage with an old-fashioned three-point play.

Meneghetti, who finished with 10 points and three assists, answered a Rockhurst basket with a three-pointer to continue USI's momentum. Senior forward/center Stephanie McSparin finished the run with a jumper to give the Eagles a commanding 17-point edge.

“It wasn't pretty out there by any means,” Stein said. “We struggled to make baskets, but our kids stepped up and made plays when they needed to.”

Young, who went 10-of-10 at the charity stripe, added 17 points to round out the Eagles' double-digit scorers, while senior forward/center Courtney Perry chipped in six points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

The Eagles, who committed just 12 turnovers in the game, shot 47.6 percent from the field in the second half after shooting just 29.2 percent in the first 20 minutes.

USI, which took over sole possession of the GLVC East Division after Northern Kentucky University's 67-60 double-overtime loss to Missouri University of Science & Technology Friday, continues its five-game road trip Sunday at noon when it visits the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The Tritons (8-13, 3-10 GLVC) lost to Kentucky Wesleyan College, 84-77, Friday evening in St. Louis.