at Southern Indiana (4-0): 96
Notre Dame (OH) (1-5): 64
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EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team connected on six straight shots to open its game against Notre Dame College (Ohio) in the first round of the USI Thanksgiving Classic and never looked back as it cruised to a 96-64 victory over the visiting Falcons Saturday afternoon at the Physical Activities Center.
USI (4-0) sunk 70.0 percent of its shots in the opening period as it raced out to a 56-25 halftime advantage. Sophomore guard
Taylor Stevenson hit a three-pointer 20 seconds into the contest; then slashed the lane for a layup moments later as USI led 5-0 45 seconds into the contest.
Junior guard
Stephanie Carpenter , one of five Screaming Eagles to reach double-figures on the afternoon, hit a jumper to make it 7-0, while sophomore forward/center
Mary O'Keefe converted an old-fashion three-point play to put the Eagles up 10-0 less than two minutes into the contest.
USI went up 12-0 on a layup by junior guard
Ariel Barnes; then answered the Falcons' first bucket with a Carpenter trifecta—six attempts, six buckets, 15 points, and a 13-point cushion less than three minutes into the game.
The Eagles had five players with at least seven points heading into the intermission, including O'Keefe's 12 and Carpenter's 10. Carpenter finished the contest with a team-high tying 15 points, while O'Keefe settled for 12 after playing sparingly in the last 20 minutes.
Junior forward/center
Nicole Hazemi paced the Eagles in the second period as she scored 12 of her team-high tying 15 points in the last 20 minutes. Junior guard
Jessica Parker also had eight of her 12 points in the final stanza as the Eagles extended their lead to as many as 40 before settling on the 32-point win.
The Eagles also got 10 points from Barnes, who added a career-high 10 assists to record her first-career double-double. Stevenson and sophomore forward/center
Anna Hackert each finished with nine points, while sophomore guard
Brierra Young chipped in seven points.
For the game, the Eagles shot 58.1 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from three-point range. They out-rebounded the Falcons, 39-24, and dished out 22 assists to just 16 turnovers.
Sophomore forward/center
Cayla Herbst paced the Eagles on the boards with a game-high seven, while Carpenter added four assists.
Notre Dame (1-5) was led by senior guard Lauren Macer, who finished with 15 points, and junior guard Courtney Clark, who added 13 points.
USI returns to action Sunday when it takes on Lake Superior State University at 2:30 p.m. The Lakers (1-2) lost a heartbreaker to Bellarmine University, 76-75, to open the USI Thanksgiving Classic earlier in the day. Bellarmine and Notre Dame also play Sunday at noon at the PAC.
