at Truman State (15-5, 9-3 GLVC): 74
Southern Indiana (14-6, 8-4 GLVC): 57
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KIRKSVILLE, Mo.—The University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team shot a season-low 26.2 percent from the field as it suffered a 74-57 Great Lakes Valley Conference setback to host Truman State University Thursday evening.
Truman State (15-5, 9-3 GLVC) held the Screaming Eagles' leading scorers—junior forward/center
Anna Hackert and senior guard
Stephanie Carpenter—to a combined 4-of-23 from the floor as it ended USI's three-game winning streak.
USI (14-6, 8-4 GLVC) scored seven of the first eight points in the game to take an early lead, but Truman State answered with an 18-4 run to take a 19-11 lead with nine minutes to play in the opening period.
The Eagles used a 5-0 spurt later in the frame to get to within three, but back-to-back three-pointers by the Truman State sophomore guard Courtney Straight stopped USI's surge and shifted momentum back into the Bulldog's favor. USI shot just 21.2 percent from the field in the first period as the Bulldogs extended their advantage to 39-23 at the break.
USI scored the first six points of the second half to close to within 10 points, but a 10-1 Truman State run that featured back-to-back three-pointers by senior guard Amy Briggs once again stymied the Eagles' surge while propelling the Bulldogs into a commanding 49-30 advantage.
Truman State, which drained 10 three-pointers, extended its lead to as many as 21 points before settling on the 17-point triumph.
Hackert, who was 3-of-13 from the field and 10-of-11 at the charity stripe, paced the Eagles with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while fellow classmate
Mary O'Keefe chipped in 10 points and five rebounds.
"I thought bad offense killed us in the first half," USI Head Coach
Rick Stein said. "We had two assists and 11 turnovers in the first half. You can't go on the road and give the ball away that many times in one half. We weren't shooting the ball well; we missed a lot of easy baskets, a lot of layups."
Senior forward Bianca Szafarowicz, who scored six early points to open up Truman State's offense, led the Bulldogs with 22 points. "I thought Szafarowicz made a big difference," Stein said. "She's a complimentary kid for them and she goes for 22 points, three assists, and three steals. She made some big baskets, which caused us to shift and leave other players open."
Briggs added 16 points and seven assists for the Bulldogs, who shot 52.0 percent from the field and went 10-of-23 from three-point range. The Eagles, who made 14 shots from downtown in their 100-49 win over McKendree University last Saturday, went just 1-of-12 from three-point range Thursday evening.
USI returns to action Saturday at 1 p.m. when it travels to Quincy, Illinois, to take on No. 11 Quincy University in a GLVC contest. The Lady Hawks (18-2, 11-1 GLVC) rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to defeat Bellarmine University, 89-79, Thursday.
