Senior guard Emma DeHart (Indianapolis, Indiana) and sophomore forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio) combined for 37 points to lead No. 11 University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball to a 62-50 Great Lakes Valley Conference win Thursday evening at Screaming Eagles Arena.
USI (10-1, 10-1 GLVC) held the Hawks to just 28.8 percent (21-73) from the field and 3.6 percent (1-28) from behind the arc to earn the win.
After finding themselves in a 15-14 deficit heading into the second period, the Screaming Eagles clamped down on the defensive end, holding the Hawks to just four second-quarter points and a 2-of-15 (.133) shooting clip. The Eagles ended the opening half with an 8-0 run to turn a one-point advantage into a much-more comfortable 28-19 lead heading into the intermission.
USI held Quincy scoreless for the final 5:30 of the half and the first two-plus minutes of the second half as the Eagles’ lead grew to 32-19 a little more than a minute into the third quarter.
Quincy (1-11, 1-11 GLVC), which went nearly 10 minutes without a field goal, answered USI throughout the final six minutes of the third quarter and the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. The Hawks trimmed USI’s advantage to 41-32 at the end of the third period and cut USI’s cushion to 46-42 with just over five minutes to play.
DeHart, however, drained back-to-back three-pointers on consecutive possessions to push USI’s lead back to double-digits. DeHart scored nine of her game-high 19 points in the final five minutes and had 13 second-half points to lead the Eagles, who made 8-of-10 free throws down the stretch to preserve the victory.
Haithcock, who scored 11 of her 17 points in the second half, racked up a game-high tying eight rebounds for the Eagles, who held a 52-41 edge on the glass. The Eagles also got nine points and an NCAA career-high eight rebounds from senior guard Ashley Hunter (Flossmoor, Illinois), while junior forward Ashlynn Brown (Perrysburg, Ohio) finished with seven points and a season-high tying eight rebounds.
Freshman guard Jazzpher Evans and sophomore guard Laney Lantz led the Hawks with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
USI returns to action Saturday at 1 p.m. when it takes on Truman State University in a rematch of the Eagles’ 83-78 victory earlier this month in Kirksville, Missouri. The Bulldogs (10-2, 10-2 GLVC), who defeated McKendree University, 68-65, Thursday evening in Lebanon, Illinois, are neck-and-neck with the Eagles in the GLVC Points Ratings System and Saturday’s bout figures to carry a lot of GLVC and NCAA II Tournament implications.
