Senior forward Hannah Wascher (Rantoul, Illinois) and sophomore center Kacy Eschweiler (St. Charles, Missouri) each had double-doubles as University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball cruised to a 92-46 victory over the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras in its first game of the Puerto Rico Classic Friday night.
The Screaming Eagles (9-1) dominated the contest from start to finish as they jumped out to a commanding 28-11 lead after one period of play. USI out-rebounded the Gallitos 33-13 in the first half as it extended its lead to 54-17 at the break.
USI, which got scoring contributions 12 players Friday night, used a 14-0 run that spanned the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second period to build a 38-11 cushion. Eschweiler and junior forward Morgan Dahlstrom (Grayslake, Illinois) each had four points during the run, which put the Eagles up by 27 less than three minutes into the second frame.
After recording the last two points of the second quarter, the Eagles scored the first 16 points of the third period as they extended their advantage to a game-high 53 points (70-17) with just under seven minutes to play in the stanza. Wascher had seven points in the run, while senior guard Tanner Marcum (New Albany, Indiana) recorded five of her 12 points.
Wascher finished the contest with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Eschweiler racked up a career-high 17 points and 13 rebounds for her first-career double-double. Dahlstrom, who had eight of USI’s season-high 68 rebounds, rounded out the Eagles’ double-figure scorers with 12 points.
Junior guard Randa Harshbarger (Philo, Illinois), USI’s lone player without any scoring contributions, had a game-high seven assists.
USI returns to action when it takes on the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Saturday at noon (CST). The Janes (1-6) are coming off a 65-62 win over Shepherd University Thursday.
