Eagles pull out 13-win over S&T

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EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball scored 10 unanswered points Saturday afternoon to hold on for a 63-50 Great Lakes Valley Conference home win over visiting Missouri University of Science & Technology at Screaming Eagles Arena.

The Screaming Eagles (20-4, 14-2 GLVC), which had seen a seven-point fourth-quarter lead trimmed to just three points with less than four minutes to play, held the Miners scoreless for the final 3:30 of the contest as they held on for their third straight win.

USI forced two Missouri S&T turnovers and held the Miners to 0-of-6 shooting during the final 3:30 to seal the victory.

Sophomore forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) recorded her first-career double-double as she finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Eagles, who held a 20-9 advantage in points off turnovers.

USI had seven different players score at least six points, with freshman guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) following Raley in the scoring column with nine points.

Shafford paced USI’s bench, which outscored Missouri S&T’s reserves 25-13. Junior forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio) had seven points and eight rebounds, while fifth-year senior guard Ashley Hunter (Flossmoor, Illinois) joined Haithcock with seven points off the bench.

Missouri S&T (10-14, 7-11 GLVC) was led by senior guard Laura Rodriquez, who had 14 points. Senior center Alex Kerr added 10 points and a game-high 17 rebounds.

USI returns to action Thursday at 5:30 p.m. when it visits the University of Missouri-St. Louis in a game that could determine the No. 1 seed in the GLVC Tournament.