ST. LOUIS—A 7-0 second-half run with senior forward/center Anna Hackert (Evansville, Indiana) sitting on the bench allowed the University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team to pull away from the University of Missouri-St. Louis in a 59-48 Great Lakes Valley Conference road win Thursday evening.

After taking a slim 28-27 lead into the intermission, the Screaming Eagles forged a 44-38 advantage with just under nine minutes to play when Hackert picked up her fourth foul of the game.

Hackert went to the bench as Missouri-St. Louis junior forward Kelly Kunkel hit two free throws to bring the host Tritons to within four points.

USI (19-5, 11-3 GLVC), however, responded with some key shots and stout defense throughout the next five minutes as it went on the 7-0 run to pull away from the Tritons.

Sophomore guard Tanner Marcum (New Albany, Indiana) drained a three-pointer to give USI a 47-40 advantage with just under eight minutes to play. A steal by senior guard Autumn Miller (Louisville, Kentucky) on the Tritons' ensuing possession led to a pass to a wide-open Cayla Herbst (Glen Ellyn, Illinois), who gave USI a 49-40 advantage with the easy layup.

Herbst's layup off a pass from senior forward/center Mary O'Keefe (Edwardsville, Illinois) with less than five minutes to play broke a nearly three-minute long scoring drought and capped off USI's 7-0 run, which saw USI extend its lead to 51-40.

The Eagles, who improved to 7-1 on the road this season, held the Tritons scoreless for more than five minutes, all with Hackert sitting on the bench.

Missouri-St. Louis (11-11, 7-7 GLVC) ended its scoring drought when senior guard Kelly McGovern connected on a layup with 3:15 to play. The bucket was the Tritons' first in nearly eight minutes.

USI, however, responded with a 5-0 run as freshman guard/forward Kaydie Grooms (Marshall, Illinois) followed a Hackert layup with a three-pointer to give USI a 56-42 lead with 2:30 left on the clock.

Hackert led all scorers with 18 points, while Marcum and Miller finished with 11 and nine points, respectively. Miller, who did all of her scoring in the opening period, finished the contest with five assists and three steals, while Hackert had a team-high six rebounds.

USI shot just 28.6 percent from the field in the opening period, but came out of the break to connect on 52.2 percent of its shots in the final 20 minutes. The Eagles, who never trailed in the second half, also were plus-10 in the turnover battle as they forced the Tritons into 22 offensive miscues.

The Eagles, who have won five straight games, return to action Saturday when they visit Maryville University for a 1 p.m. tip-off in St. Louis. The Saints (13-10, 7-7 GLVC) suffered a 75-48 home loss to Bellarmine University Thursday evening.

USI can clinch at least a first-round home game in the GLVC Tournament with a win on Saturday and can clinch a first-round bye with a win and a Quincy loss. USI is currently three-games ahead of Quincy for fourth place overall in the GLVC, which carries an automatic berth into the GLVC Tournament quarterfinals in St. Charles, Missouri.