Senior forward Hannah Wascher (Rantoul, Illinois) and junior guard/forward Kaydie Grooms (Marshall, Illinois) combined for 57 points to help University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball power past the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, 88-71, Saturday afternoon in the Screaming Eagles’ final game of the Puerto Rico Classic.
Wascher had a USI career-high 29 points to go along with 11 rebounds to finish with her second straight double-double. She had 17 points and 10 rebounds Friday night against the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras before going 11-of-16 from the field and 7-of-10 from the charity stripe Saturday.
Grooms racked up a career-high 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including a career-best 6-of-7 effort from three-point range.
USI (10-1) jumped out to an early 10-2 lead and led 24-16 at the end of the first period as Grooms drained a pair of three pointers to get the Eagles out in front. Her second three-pointer ended the quarter and put an end to an 8-0 UPR-Mayaguez run.
Wascher and Grooms dominated the second period as the duo combined for 20 of the Eagles’ 27 second-quarter points. Wascher finished the quarter with 12 points, while Grooms had eight as USI shot 81.8 percent (9-11) in the frame to go into the break with a 51-36 halftime advantage.
The Eagles, who ended the first half on a 14-5 run, came out of an extended intermission—the lights in the Roberto Clemente Coliseum went out, causing a delay—by scoring 12 of the first 18 points to build its largest lead of the contest at 63-42.
UPR-Mayaguez (1-6) answered with seven straight points to cut the Eagles’ advantage to 14, but another Grooms three-pointer ended the rally.
USI led by as much as 19 early in the fourth quarter as Wascher and Grooms combined for eight straight points, but the Janes managed to trim that deficit to 12 with just over four minutes to play.
Grooms’ old-fashioned three-point play; followed by her sixth three-pointer with just over three minutes to play turned the Janes away for good as the Eagles held on for their fifth straight win and 10th of the season.
In addition to Wascher and Grooms, the Eagles got 10 points, a career-high eight assists, and five steals from senior guard Tanner Marcum (New Albany, Indiana). Junior forward Morgan Dahlstrom (Grayslake, Illinois) added four points and eight rebounds for the Eagles, who held a 37-31 rebounding advantage and an 18-12 lead in second-chance points.
Freshman guard Iatmar Rosada Rodriguez led the Janes with 25 points and 13 rebounds, while sophomore guard Hillary Martinez Argueta had 19 points.
USI concludes the calendar year and its non-conference schedule December 30 when it hosts Ohio Dominican University at the Physical Activities Center.
