EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball claimed the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division title outright Saturday as the No. 24 Screaming Eagles earned a 70-48 Senior Day victory over GLVC foe McKendree University at the Physical Activities Center.

USI (23-4, 15-2 GLVC) turned 28 McKendree turnovers into 32 points as it earned its third straight win and first GLVC Division championship since 2011.

After taking a 35-28 lead into the break, the Eagles began the second half with five straight points in the opening minute to take a 12-point advantage.

McKendree (10-17, 1-16 GLVC) trimmed USI's lead to eight later in the period, but the Eagles eliminated any chance of an upset as they used a 17-2 run that spilt into the fourth quarter to build a commanding 59-36 advantage with eight minutes to play.

The Eagles held the Bearcats to just 21.4 percentage (3-14) shooting in the third quarter and to just nine field goal attempts in the fourth period.

Junior guard/forward Kaydie Grooms (Marshall, Illinois) had a game-high 18 points to go along with three assists to lead the Eagles, while senior guard Tanner Marcum (New Albany, Indiana) had 15 points and a game-high five steals. Junior forward Morgan Dahlstrom (Grayslake, Illinois) added 12 points and seven rebounds, while senior guard Kendyl Dearing (Huntingburg, Indiana) chipped in eight points.

USI also got a game-high six assists and three steals from junior guard Randa Harshbarger (Philo, Illinois).

Freshman guard Jordan Heberg scored 16 points to lead the Bearcats, who out-rebounded the Eagles 33-27 and outshot USI 47.7 percent (21-44) to 45.2 percent (28-62). USI finished with 18 assists and just 11 turnovers.

The Eagles, who will be no worse than the No. 2 seed in the GLVC Tournament, conclude the regular-season Thursday at 5 p.m. (CST) when they travel to Louisville, Kentucky, to take on No. 23 Bellarmine University. USI can earn the No. 1 overall seed with a win and a Drury University loss.