Senior center Kacy Eschweiler (St. Charles, Missouri) matched a career-high with 23 points while bringing down a career-high 22 rebounds as University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to defeat visiting Ferris State University, 71-66, in a Midwest Region contest Friday evening at the Physical Activities Center.
USI (3-1) also got 16 points, six assists and a career-high nine rebounds from senior guard Alex Davidson (Salem, Indiana) as it ended the third quarter with a 21-5 run to take a 48-43 lead into the fourth quarter.
Ferris State (2-1), which led 20-9 after one quarter and 38-27 a little more than three minutes into the third period, found itself trailing by as much as seven early in the fourth before rallying to take a brief 57-56 lead.
After a three-pointer by sophomore guard Kennedy Williams (Marshall, Illinois) and a pair of Ferris State free throws, the Screaming Eagles found themselves in a 59-59 stalemate with just over two minutes to play.
Sophomore guard Emma DeHart (Indianapolis, Indiana) drained a three-pointer with two minutes to play to put USI up 62-59, while a pair of Davidson free throws 20 seconds later gave USI a five-point edge it would not relinquish.
DeHart, whose basket with 2:26 to play in the third quarter put the Eagles in front (43-41) for the first time in the game, joined Eschweiler and Davidson in double figures with 11 points. Williams added nine off the bench after scoring a game-high 20 in USI’s win over Lincoln Memorial University Wednesday.
Earlier in the contest, the Eagles’ chances of winning looked bleak. USI committed nine first-quarter turnovers and were limited to just 3-of-14 shooting (.214).
A strong defensive effort in the second period allowed USI to stay in the contest as Davidson’s three-pointer right before the intermission cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 27-21 at the break. Ferris State extended its advantage back to 11 early in the third period, but an offensive outburst throughout the final 17 minutes of the game saw the Eagles commit just six turnovers while scoring 44 points to pull out the win.
