at Southern Indiana (9-0, 1-0 GLVC): 73
Missouri-St. Louis (5-5, 0-2 GLVC): 65
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EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team had to shake off some rust and its first halftime deficit of the regular-season Thursday evening, but when the final seconds tick off the clock the Screaming Eagles prevailed with a 73-65 victory over the University of Missouri-St. Louis in their Great Lakes Valley Conference opener at the Physical Activities Center.

After seeing a 49-41 lead dwindle away midway through the second half, the Eagles found themselves in a back-and-forth affair with the visiting Tritons.

USI (9-0, 1-0 GLVC), winner of 10 straight dating back to the end of the 2011-12 season, trailed 54-53 with less than 7:30 to play in the contest when sophomore forward/center Cayla Herbst ignited a 15-3 run that put the Eagles up for good.


Herbst, who scored 10 points of her 12 points while grabbing seven of her eight rebounds in the second period, scored on a layup to put the Eagles up, briefly, 55-54 with 7:29 to play.

Junior guard Ariel Barnes, who was hampered by foul trouble for most of the second half, answered a Missouri-St. Louis bucket with a layup to give USI a 57-56 lead with six minutes to play; then Hersbt scored after grabbing an offensive rebound to put USI up by three with less than five minutes on the clock.

USI extended its lead to seven points when junior guard Jessica Parker, who was questionable going into the contest, drained a three-pointer from the near corner with less than three minutes on the clock.

Sophomore forward/center Anna Hackert converted a layup with two minutes to play to put USI up 66-57, while Barnes scored moments later to give USI a commanding 68-57 lead.

Missouri-St. Louis (5-5, 0-2 GLVC) battled back in the final minute to cut USI's lead to five, but that was as close as the Tritons would get as the Eagles held on for their first win in a GLVC-opener since the 2009-10 campaign.

USI, which rallied from an early seven-point deficit to build a brief 27-24 lead in the opening period, trailed 35-31 at the break and 36-31 in the opening minute of the second half. The Eagles, however, used an 18-5 run to forge their 49-41 advantage with 11 minutes to play.

Hackert, who faced foul trouble in the first 20 minutes, hit a jumper to begin the run, while junior guard Stephanie Carpenter followed with a three-pointer to tie the contest at 36. Sophomore forward/center Mary O'Keefe scored after corralling an offensive rebound to give USI a two-point edge; then converted an old-fashioned three-point play to stake USI to a 41-36 lead three minutes into the second half.

Herbst and Parker scored on back-to-back possessions to give USI a 47-41 edge with less than 13 minutes to play, while sophomore guard Libby Odgen hit back-to-back free throws to put USI up 49-41.

Carpenter paced the Eagles with 13 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while Hackert, who finished with a team-best nine rebounds, matched Herbst with 12 points. O'Keefe rounded out the Eagles' double-digit efforts with 11 points, while Barnes and Parker contributed eight and seven points, respectively.

Sophomore guard Taylor Stevenson finished with six points and a career-high five assists.

USI concludes its eight-game homestand Saturday at 1 p.m. when it hosts defending GLVC Tournament champion Maryville University at the PAC. The Saints (5-5, 1-1 GLVC) fell to Kentucky Wesleyan College, 97-91, Thursday in Owensboro, Kentucky.