EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball used a dominating performance in the paint Wednesday afternoon to upset No. 6 Ashland University, 63-58, in a Midwest Region contest at Screaming Eagles Arena.
The Screaming Eagles’ post players combined to go a blistering 17-of-25 (.680) from the field and USI outscored Ashland, 42-24, inside the paint to earn the victory.
Senior forward Ashlynn Brown (Perrysburg, Ohio) scored nine points in the first period and 13 at the intermission as USI rolled out leads of 17-8 after 10 minutes of play and 35-23 at the intermission.
Ashland (3-1) was able to cut USI’s lead to a single point midway through the second quarter, but the Screaming Eagles held the Ashland Eagles to 0-of-4 from the field while forcing three turnovers in an 11-0 run that sent USI into the locker room with a lot of momentum.
USI (4-1), which shot 62.5 percent (15-24) in the first 20 minutes, came out of the break and continued to poor on the pressure as it extended its advantage to 17 points with less than two minutes to play in the third period. The Screaming Eagles went 9-of-13 (.692) from the field during an eight-minute stretch of the third quarter that saw USI extend its advantage to 53-36.
Ashland, however, fought back with five straight points to end the period with USI holding onto a 53-41 lead. USI’s lead continued to slip away in the fourth quarter as Ashland followed a basket by fifth-year senior guard Emma DeHart(Indianapolis, Indiana) with a 6-0 run to cut USI’s lead to just four points with 3:30 to play in the contest.
The Screaming Eagles were held to just two points from the final minute of the third quarter until a layup by junior forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio) put the Eagles up 57-51 with three minutes to play.
Neither team could get on the scoreboard throughout the next minute-and-a-half, but a layup by Ashland’s Hayley Smith, once again, cut USI’s advantage to just four points.
Following a missed USI three-pointer, Ashland had a chance to get even closer, but an offensive foul on Smith, who finished with 11 points, put possession back into USI’s favor in the finals 50 seconds of regulation.
USI milked the clock in its next possession and, following a pair of offensive rebounds, the Eagles were able to seal the victory at the free throw line as DeHart and junior guard Tori Handley combined to go 6-for-6 from the stripe in the final 23 seconds.
DeHart matched Brown with a team-high 13 points, while Haithcock added 10 points. Sophomore forward Meredith Raley(Haubstadt, Indiana) contributed 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds for USI, which shot 48.1 percent (26-54) from the field.
Ashland was led by Hallie Heidemann, who finished with 26 points and three steals.
The Screaming Eagles return to action Monday at 5:30 p.m. when they host the University of Indianapolis at Screaming Eagles Arena to open Great Lakes Valley Conference play. USI also visits the University of Illinois Springfield next Thursday before returning to non-conference play for the remainder of the calendar year.
