at #11 Quincy (19-2, 12-1 GLVC): 90
Southern Indiana (14-7, 8-5 GLVC): 87
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QUINCY, Ill.—The University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback, but a layup in the final seconds of the contest sealed the Screaming Eagles' fate as they fell to No. 11 Quincy University, 90-87, in a Great Lakes Valley Conference contest Saturday afternoon.
USI (14-7, 8-5 GLVC) trailed by as much as 28 with less than 12 minutes to play, but a furious rally led by senior guard
Stephanie Carpenter and junior guard
Jessica Parker saw the Eagles close to within one point with five seconds to play.
After Parker connected on a three-pointer to cut the Lady Hawks' advantage to 88-87, Quincy's Felisha Loggins got open for a break-away layup with three seconds to play to seal the victory.
Carpenter, who went 0-for-5 from the floor in the opening period and 0-for-3 from three-point range, scored all of her 22 points in the final 12 minutes as the Eagles stormed back from a 72-44 deficit.
"People know who
Stephanie Carpenter is right now," USI Head Coach
Rick Stein said. "They're up on her, getting in her face. She was a little impatient early, but she settled down in the second half, got better looks at the goal, and made shots."
Carpenter finished the game by going 8-of-17 from the floor, including 5-of-9 from three-point range.
Quincy (19-2, 12-1 GLVC), which shot 62.1 percent from the field in the first half as it built a commanding 51-36 halftime advantage, made just four field goals in the final 12 minutes as USI put itself in position to win the game.
"Our intensity on the defensive end the last 13 or 14 minutes was unbelievable," Stein said. "Quincy was a buzz-saw in the first half. Everything they threw up went in. The only way we were going to get back in the game was to get stops and we did that."
In the first half, it was junior forward/center
Anna Hackert who carried the Eagles. Hackert scored 20 of her game-high 24 points as she became the 13th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points. She added nine rebounds for the Eagles, who shot 56.3 percent from the field in the second period.
Parker aided the Eagles' comeback bid as she scored all of her 14 points in the second half, including 12 points in the final 12 minutes.
"Obviously with 13 or 14 minutes left in the game, it's easy to pack it in," Stein said. "We didn't just get ourselves back in the game; we had a chance to win. We just needed one more possession, three more seconds."
Senior guard Lucy Cramsey had 15 points to lead the Hawks, who went 13-of-21 from three-point range, including 8-of-10 in the opening frame.
USI, which went 7-of-11 from downtown in the final 20 minutes, returns to the friendly confines of the Physical Activities Center Thursday at 5:15 p.m. when it hosts Maryville University.
"We're in February, there isn't going to be an easy team the rest of the way," Stein said. "We have a lot to fight for and I think we showed it down the stretch run today and will show it coming home next week."
