Senior guard Tanner Marcum (New Albany, Indiana) and junior guard/forward Kaydie Grooms (Marshall, Illinois) combined for 48 points as the No. 23 University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball team rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit to defeat No. 20 Bellarmine University, 88-81, in its regular-season finale Thursday evening.
USI (24-4, 16-2 GLVC) trailed 10-0 two minutes into the contest and 28-15 less than two minutes into the fourth quarter. The Screaming Eagles, however, outscored the Knights 25-13 throughout the final 8:30 of the half, taking a brief two-point lead late in the second quarter before going into the break facing a 41-40 halftime deficit.
The two teams traded buckets early in the third quarter, but Marcum had a three-pointer and a pair of field goals in USI’s 7-0 run that put the Eagles up 55-46 with less than five minutes to play in the period.
Bellarmine (21-6, 13-5 GLVC) trimmed the Eagles’ lead to three late in the third quarter, but an 8-2 USI run that featured a pair of baskets by junior forward Morgan Dahlstrom (Grayslake, Illinois) put the Eagles up 65-56 early in the fourth quarter.
USI maintained its nine-point advantage with just over four minutes to play in the game, but an 8-2 Bellarmine run trimmed the Eagles’ lead to 77-74 with less than two minutes to play in the contest.
Marcum, however, drained 6-of-6 free throws in the final 1:22 of the contest, while Grooms sank 5-of-6 attempts to preserve the Eagles’ victory.
Grooms, who became the 17th player in program history reach the 1,000-point plateau, finished with 21 points, while Marcum was named the Player of the Game by NCAA.com after finishing with 27 points, six rebounds and five steals.
Dahlstrom added 16 points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks, while senior forward Hannah Wascher (Rantoul, Illinois) finished with 17 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. USI dominated the lane, out-rebounding the Knights, 42-32, and outscoring Bellarmine, 42-36, in the paint.
USI shot 47.5 percent from the field on 29-of-61 shooting, while Bellarmine went 27-of-66 (.405) from the field. The Eagles were a blistering 25-of-27 (.926) from the free throw line, while the Knights went 19-of-23 (.826) from the charity stripe.
Senior forward Sarah Galvin and junior guard Raven Merriweather led the Knights with 23 and 19 points, respectively.
The Eagles begin GLVC Tournament play next Friday, March 3, against an opponent to be determined. USI will be the No. 2 seed after winning the East Division by three games over Bellarmine and Lewis University.
