University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball used second-half runs of 10-0 and 16-2 to pull away from host Bellarmine University and earn a 67-59 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory Monday evening at Knights Hall.
The No. 18/22 Screaming Eagles (13-2, 5-1 GLVC), which trailed by as much as seven points early in the opening period, found themselves in a 37-37 tie with just over four minutes to play in the third quarter. Two minutes later, USI led 47-37 thanks to a 10-0 run that was propelled by the Eagles’ senior class of forward Morgan Dahlstrom (Grayslake, Illinois), guard/forward Kaydie Grooms (Marshall, Illinois) and Randa Harshbarger (Philo, Illinois).
After a Bellarmine (8-8, 3-4 GLVC) run cut the Eagles’ advantage to three points late in the third frame, junior guard Alex Davidson (Salem, Indiana) drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to give USI a 50-44 advantage heading into the final 10 minutes.
Davidson’s trifecta started a 16-2 run that left USI comfortably in front, 63-46, with less than six minutes to play in the contest. Davidson, who finished with a career-high 16 points, had 14 points in the second half and 11 in the 16-2 run that made the difference in the contest.
Grooms had 21 points and seven rebounds to lead the Eagles, while Dahlstrom chipped in 16 points and 15 rebounds. Harshbarger added eight points, eight assists and four steals.
Senior guard Raven Merriweather had 22 points to lead the Knights, who outscored USI 13-4 in the final five minutes of the game.
USI returns to action Thursday at 5:30 p.m. when it hosts Missouri University S&T at the Physical Activities Center.
