University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball held the University of Missouri-St. Louis without a field goal for the final five minutes of the contest Thursday evening as the No. 9/20 Screaming Eagles earned a hard-fought 70-65 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory over the visiting Tritons at the Physical Activities Center.
The No. 9/20 Screaming Eagles (11-1, 3-0 GLVC) trailed 62-58 before outscoring the Tritons 12-3 throughout the final five minutes of the game. A three-point play by junior forward/center Mikayla Rowan (Brazil, Indiana) trimmed USI’s deficit to one point, while a three-pointer by junior guard Alex Davidson (Salem, Indiana) with less than three minutes to play gave USI a 64-63 lead they would not relinquish.
After multiple defensive stands by both teams, senior guard/forward Kaydie Grooms (Marshall, Illinois) sealed the win with four free throws in the final 22 seconds of the contest. Grooms led all scorers with 22 points, 11 rebounds and three assists, while senior forward Morgan Dahlstrom (Grayslake, Illinois) chipped in 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Junior forward Kacy Eschweiler (St. Charles, Missouri) fought through foul trouble to finish with 10 points, while Rowan and Davidson finished with nine and eight points, respectively. Davidson added three assists and a career-high seven steals.
Senior forward Jordan Fletcher led the Tritons (7-14, 1-3 GLVC) with 17 points.
USI returns to action Saturday at 1 p.m. when it travels to Springfield, Missouri, to take on No. 8/20 Drury University in a Top 25 showdown. The Panthers (11-1, 3-0 GLVC), winners of nine straight, have been idle since December 17.
