EVANSVILLE, Ind.—Buoyed by a 15-0 first-half run, the University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team earned its first win of the 2014-15 season as it breezed past Midwest Region foe Ohio Valley University, 84-41, Saturday afternoon at the Physical Activities Center.
USI (1-1) turned a three-point edge into a commanding 30-12 lead with the 15-0 run that lasted six minutes of the opening period. Senior forward/center
Mary O'Keefe (Edwardsville, Illinois) scored all of her five points in the spurt, as did sophomore guard
Kendyl Dearing (Huntingburg, Indiana).
The Screaming Eagles outscored the Fighting Scots, 37-11, in the final 13 minutes, thanks in part to freshman guard/forward
Kaydie Grooms (Marshall, Illinois). Grooms scored 15 of her game-high 19 points in the opening half as the Eagles forged a commanding 52-23 halftime advantage.
USI, which set a school-record for three-point attempts in a single game (35), connected on seven trifectas in the opening period and 11 for the game as it extended its lead to 62-23 four minutes into the second half.
Ohio Valley (0-2) never got any closer than 38 points as USI rebounded from a 75-65 loss to Malone University Friday night.
In addition to Grooms, who added five assists and eight rebounds to her scoring tally, senior guard
Autumn Miller (Louisville, Kentucky) and senior forward/center
Anna Hackert (Evansville, Indiana) each finished in double figures. Miller had 13 points and three steals, while Hackert racked up 11 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
USI returns to action Tuesday at 7 p.m. when it travels to the Sportscenter in Owensboro, Kentucky, to take on former GLVC rival and current Midwest Region foe Kentucky Wesleyan College.
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