ST. CHARLES, Mo.—The University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team held off a second-half surge by the University of Missouri-St. Louis to earn a 77-65 victory in the quarterfinals of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship Tournament at the Family Arena Friday night.

The two teams traded baskets early on, but USI used a 10-2 run midway through the opening period to build an 18-12 lead.

Missouri-St. Louis (14-14), however, countered the Screaming Eagles' spurt with a 7-1 outburst to trim USI's cushion to two points.

USI (24-5), though, used a 14-3 run throughout the final five and a half minutes of the first half to build a commanding 35-22 halftime advantage. Senior guards Libby Ogden (Tipton, Indiana) and Taylor Stevenson (Olney, Illinois) each had six points during USI's run, which saw the Eagles go 5-of-7 from the field and 2-of-2 from downtown.

The Eagles extended their lead to 15 early in the second half as sophomore guard Tanner Marcum (New Albany, Indiana) hit an early shot; but the Tritons surged back, using a 10-3 push to trim the Eagles' advantage to five points later in the period.

With senior forward/center Anna Hackert (Evansville, Indiana) on the bench with four fouls, the Eagles' found themselves clinging to a 50-45 lead with 10 minutes to play.

Senior forward/center Mary O'Keefe (Edwardsville, Illinois), however, responded by draining a wide-open bucket from the foul line off a pass from senior guard Autumn Miller (Louisville, Kentucky).

The bucket started a 7-0 run that allowed the Eagles to push their lead back to double-digits. Miller followed O'Keefe's basket with a pair of free throws; then dished the ball to Marcum for a three-pointer and a 57-45 advantage with nine minutes to play.

Miller, who finished with 14 points and a game-high five assists, answered a 5-0 Missouri-St. Louis spurt with a three-pointer with just under eight minutes to play as the Eagles pushed their lead to 60-50.

The two teams traded buckets and free throws throughout the next four minutes, but back-to-back three-pointers by the Tritons once again had the Eagles protecting a single-digit lead.

Marcum, however, answered with a bucket and a three-pointer to extend USI's lead to 73-61 with just under two minutes to play. O'Keefe's basket with a minute to play, followed by Marcum's steal and a pair Miller free throws less than 20 seconds later, sealed the victory for the Eagles.

In addition to Miller, the Eagles got 14 points from Marcum, who was 6-of-9 from the field, as well as 12 points and five rebounds from O'Keefe. Hackert chipped in 11 points and six rebounds, while Odgen and Stevenson chipped in eight and six points, respectively. Senior guard Mariah Nimmo (Groveland, Illinois) also had six points and four assists.

USI, which is the No. 3 seed in the GLVC Tournament, returns to action Saturday at 8:30 p.m. when it takes on No. 2 Lewis University in the semifinals. The second-seeded Flyers (28-1) defeated Maryville University 78-63 earlier in the evening.