For Immediate Release
December 3, 2015
Marcum, Grooms lead Eagles past Bearcats in GLVC-opener
-Box Score
Southern Indiana (5-1, 1-0 GLVC): 58
McKendree (1-5, 0-1 GLVC): 45
-Box Score
EVANSVILLE, Ind.—Junior guard Tanner Marcum (New Albany, Indiana) and sophomore guard/forward Kaydie Grooms (Marshall, Illinois) combined for 36 points to lead the University of Southern Indiana women’s basketball team to a 58-45 victory over McKendree University in the Screaming Eagles’ Great Lakes Valley Conference-opener Thursday evening at the Physical Activities Center.
USI (5-1, 1-0 GLVC), which never trailed in the contest, used a 7-0 first-quarter run to build a 16-11 lead after the opening period.
The Eagles used an 8-2 spurt early in the second quarter to extend their lead to 24-13; but McKendree slowly chipped away at USI’s advantage as the Bearcats held the Eagles scoreless for the final six minutes of the period to close to within six points (24-18) at the intermission.
McKendree (1-5, 0-1 GLVC) closed to within five points with a free throw early in the third quarter; but a 6-0 USI run pushed the Eagles’ cushion back to 11 points with six minutes to play in the period. Three different Eagles—sophomore forward Morgan Dahlstrom (Grayslake, Illinois), Marcum, and junior forward Hannah Wascher (Rantoul, Illinois)—scored during the run that stole momentum away from the Bearcats.
USI’s cushion ballooned to 15 points later in the third quarter as the Eagles used an 8-1 run that featured a three-pointer by sophomore guard Randa Harshbarger (Philo, Illinois), a bucket by Marcum, and an old-fashioned three-point play by Grooms.
Marcum’s three-pointer with 2:23 to play in the third frame followed by a layup by junior center Ruta Savickaite (Vinius, Lithuania) pushed USI’s advantage to 18.
Grooms hit her fourth three-pointer of the game with 2:20 to play in the fourth quarter to give USI its largest lead at 58-39.
Marcum finished the contest with a season-high 19 points and a career-high six assists; while Grooms added 17 points, seven rebounds, and three steals.
USI returns to action Saturday at 1 p.m. when it hosts the University of Illinois Springfield at the PAC. The Prairie Stars (3-3, 0-1 GLVC) fell to Bellarmine University, 72-58, Thursday evening in Louisville, Kentucky.
Note: USI is now 12-1 versus teams in its four-team pod since the GLVC went to pod-play in the 2013-14 season.
