at Kentucky Wesleyan (10-4, 6-1 GLVC): 68
Southern Indiana (13-2, 5-2 GLVC): 59
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OWENSBORO, Ky.—The University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team could not complete a second-half comeback bid as it suffered a tough 68-59 setback to host Kentucky Wesleyan College Monday evening at the Owensboro Sportscenter.
Kentucky Wesleyan (10-4, 6-1 GLVC) scored the game's first 10 points before junior guard
Stephanie Carpenter drained a three-pointer to put the Screaming Eagles on the board for the first time nearly four minutes into the contest.
USI (13-2, 5-2 GLVC) closed to within four points following sophomore forward/center
Anna Hackert's bucket with 14:42 to play in the opening period.
A pair of baskets by junior forward/center
Nicole Hazemi trimmed Kentucky Wesleyan's lead to 14-12 with 10:40 to play in the first stanza, but another four-minute USI scoring drought allowed the Panthers to push their advantage back to 10 with seven minutes to play in the first half.
Led by senior guard Lauren Goffinet, the Panthers drained seven three-pointers in the first 20 minutes as they extended their advantage to as many as 17 before settling on a 37-22 halftime advantage.
USI, however, battled back as it used a 15-4 spurt to open the second half and close the Panthers' cushion to 41-37 with just under 14 minutes remaining.
Six different players scored for the Eagles during their run, which was started with a pair of buckets by sophomore forward/center
Mary O'Keefe.
Kentucky Wesleyan, however, scored six of the game's next eight points and led 47-39 with 11:30 to play.
Hackert, who was named the GLVC Player of the Week earlier in the day, scored USI's next six points as the Eagles made another push. A bucket by junior guard
Ariel Barnes and two free throws by O'Keefe brought the Eagles to within two points (51-49) with less than eight minutes on the clock.
USI trimmed Kentucky Wesleyan's advantage to 56-53 later in the contest, but another four-minute scoring drought allowed the Panthers to go on a 6-0 run and essentially end any chance of a USI comeback.
Hackert paced the Eagles with 14 points and a career-high 20 rebounds. She came within one rebound of the single-game school-record, which was set by two players in 1977 (Debbie Schutte vs. Oakland City and Jill Padgett vs. Kentucky Wesleyan).
Goffinet led the Panthers with 17 points, while senior guard Bianca Barton had 15 points.
USI shot 45.5 percent from the field in the second half after shooting just 27.6 percent in the opening period. The Eagles, who out-rebounded Kentucky Wesleyan 44-38, held the Panthers to just two three-pointers in the final 20 minutes.
The Eagles return to action Thursday at 5:30 p.m. when they take on the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Somers, Wisconsin. The Rangers (9-6, 3-4 GLVC) fell to Lewis University, 63-58, Monday in Somers.
