Southern Indiana (17-8, 11-6 GLVC): 67
at Saint Joseph's (6-19, 3-14 GLVC): 60
-Box Score:
HTML |
Sortable
RENSSELAER, Ind.—Junior guard
Autumn Miller and junior forward/center
Mary O'Keefe combined for 31 points as the University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team held off a late Saint Joseph's College rally to earn a 67-60 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory in its final road game of the regular season.
Miller, who finished with a career-high 16 points to lead all scorers, hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final 15 seconds as the Screaming Eagles, who led by as much as 18 with 10 minutes to play, held the Pumas at bay.
O'Keefe and Miller combined for eight points in a 10-0 USI run that put the Eagles up 43-26 with 15 minutes to play in the second period.
Saint Joseph's (6-19, 3-14 GLVC), however, closed the gap as it drained three shots from behind the arc to pull to within eight points with five minutes on the clock. A three-pointer by junior guard Kiki Lyons with 17 seconds to play cut USI's advantage to 64-60, but a pair of free throws by Miller on USI's next possession helped the Eagles salt away the victory.
"I told our team that they were not going to stop playing, that we would have to go win the game," USI Head Coach
Rick Stein said. "We knew they would make some play; that we could not just cruise to the finish and think we were going to win.
"They made some big shots and some big plays, but we had some players step up and make free throws to win the game," Stein continued. "Autumn made some big free throws and we topped off the win."
Miller's three-pointer at the buzzer to end the first half came at a critical juncture as the Eagles, who led 23-11, with five minutes to play in the opening period, had seen Saint Joseph's surge back into contention.
USI (17-8, 11-6 GLVC) shot just 37.9 percent (11-29) from the field in the first half, but held the Pumas to just 22.2 percent (6-27) from the floor in the first 20 minutes as it went into the break with a 29-22 halftime advantage. "I think the defensive end set the tone for us in the first half," Stein said. "To hold them to 22 points in a half at their place, they had a hard time getting looks."
Senior guard
Jessica Parker aided the Eagles in the opening half as she hit a pair of three-pointers in a 10-0 run that put USI up by a dozen.
In addition to Miller, O'Keefe finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, while junior forward/center
Anna Hackert added 11 points, nine rebounds, and three assists. Parker finished with nine points, four rebounds, and three assists
USI concludes the regular-season Thursday at 5:15 p.m. when it hosts Bellarmine University for Senior Night at the Physical Activities Center.
