Southern Indiana (10-1, 3-0 GLVC): 68
at Rockhurst (7-3, 1-2 GLVC): 54
KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Junior guard Tanner Marcum (New Albany, Indiana) and junior forward Hannah Wascher (Rantoul, Illinois) combined for 42 points and a .778 shooting percentage to lead the University of Southern Indiana women’s basketball team to a 68-54 Great Lakes Valley Conference road win over Rockhurst University Thursday evening.
USI (10-1, 3-0 GLVC) shook off a slow start and an uncharacteristic 25 turnovers to earn its eighth consecutive victory. The Screaming Eagles trailed 6-0 early in the contest, but rallied to tie the game at 13-13 at the end of the first quarter as Marcum drained a three-pointer to close out the first period.
Junior forward Tasia Brewer (Terre Haute, Indiana) hit a three-pointer early in the second quarter to give the Eagles their first lead of the contest, while a 5-0 run late in the period gave USI a 31-28 advantage at the intermission.
The Eagles stretched their lead to 43-34 midway through the third quarter as Wascher wrapped a pair of layups around a basket by sophomore guard Randa Harshbarger (Philo, Illinois).
Rockhurst (7-3, 1-2 GLVC), which suffered its first home loss of the season, trimmed USI’s advantage to five as junior guard Mary Dineen drained one of her six three-pointers with just over four minutes to play in the third period. That would be the last points the Hawks would get in the period as USI held Rockhurst to 0-of-5 shooting in the final four minutes to forge a 48-39 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
USI led by 11 points early in the fourth period; but a 6-0 Rockhurst run once again closed the gap to five points, this time 52-47 with just over six minutes to play.
The Eagles, however, responded as sophomore forward/guard Kaydie Grooms (Marshall, Illinois) drained a three-pointer with six minutes to play to begin a 9-1 USI run. Marcum had the final six points in the run, capped off by a rare four-point play that put USI up 61-48 with just over four minutes to play.
Wascher, who finished with 17 points and nine rebounds, had an old-fashioned three-point play less than two minutes later as USI increased its advantage to as many as 15 points before settling on the 14-point win.
Marcum, who shot 8-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-3 from behind the arc, racked up 25 points and four assists to lead USI. Wascher went 6-of-8 from the floor as USI shot 49.0 percent (24-49) from the field as a team.
The Eagles out-rebounded the Hawks, 43-26, and held Rockhurst to a .298 shooting percentage. Dineen had 27 points to lead Rockhurst, while sophomore guard Jillian Myers had eight assists and six steals. Harshbarger had four assists and a career-high seven rebounds for USI.
USI returns to action Saturday when it visits William Jewell College. The Cardinals (5-9, 0-3 GLVC) suffered a 78-75 setback to No. 22 Bellarmine University Thursday evening in Liberty, Missouri.
