University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball suffered a 69-49 exhibition loss to the University of Cincinnati Saturday afternoon in Cincinnati, Ohio. USI opens the 2015-16 regular season November 14 on the road when it travels to the University of Alabama-Huntsville for a 2 p.m. contest.
The Screaming Eagles got off to a rough start, falling behind 6-1 in the opening minutes of the first quarter, and had to wait 4:07 to get their first field goal. USI would trail at the end of the first quarter, 21-11, but would get back to within three points, 26-23, with 3:40 left in the half on a lay-up by sophomore guard/forward Kaydie Grooms (Marshall, Illinois).
The Bearcats got the final seven points of the second quarter and would go into the intermission with a 33-23 advantage. Sophomore forward Morgan Dahlstrom (Grayslake, Illinois) led USI in the first half with six points, while junior forward Hannah Wascher (Rantoul, Illinois) had five points and a team-high nine rebounds.
In the second half, the Bearcats outscored the Eagles, 18-14, in the third quarter to extend the margin to 51-37, before running away from USI in the fourth. Cincinnati used a 13-0 run mid-way through the fourth quarter to take a 23-point lead, 64-41. USI and Cincinnati would score five points each in the final minutes, resulting in the 69-46 final.
Overall, USI shot 36.7 percent from the field (18-49), 28.6 percent from long range (4-14), and 46.2 percent from the charity stripe. The Eagles also had 30 costly turnovers that resulted in 30 Bearcat points.
Individually, USI was led by Wascher’s debut double-double. Wascher posted her team-high 10 points on four field goals and a pair of free throws, while grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds. She collected 10 of her 13 rebounds off the defensive glass.
USI sophomore guard Randa Harshbarger (Philo, Illinois) followed Wascher with nine points, while Dahlstrom and junior center Ruta Savickaite (Vilnius, Lithuania) added six points each.
