The University of Southern Indiana women’s basketball team took down the University of Tampa with a final score of 56-46 to open the 2019 Bellarmine Thanksgiving Classic Friday afternoon.
The Screaming Eagles (3-1) grabbed their third victory of the 2019-20 season on the back of senior guard Ashley Johnson‘s career-high-tying 19 points, five assists, a pair of steals and a block to share or outright lead USI in each of those categories. All nine active players for USI scored in the game, with Johnson and freshman forward Hannah Haithcock scoring in double-digits.
USI opened the contest with a 10-0 run that featured Johnson assisting on baskets from Haithcock, junior guard Emma DeHart and sophomore forward Ashlynn Brown before adding a three-pointer of her own. The first quarter closed with five different Eagles contributing on the scoreboard.
The Spartans returned the favor in the second frame, opening the quarter on an 11-2 run to take their first lead just before the midway media timeout. The Eagles rallied back to the 25-23 halftime score with buckets from Johnson, junior center Audrey Turner and freshman forward Tara Robbe.
From early-on in the second quarter through to the final minutes of the game, the Eagles and Spartans were within one possession of each other, trading leads back and forth. Johnson took over the game with nine of USI’s 16 points in the final six minutes, pushing the Eagles to their 56-46 final, representing the largest lead of either team in the game.
