University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball survived a late Lewis University run to earn a 64-59 Great Lakes Valley Conference road win over the host Flyers Thursday evening at Neil Carey Arena.
The No. 14 Screaming Eagles (7-1, 7-1 GLVC) led 59-48 with less than five minutes to play, but a 9-0 Lewis run that took up just over a minute put USI’s lead in jeopardy with less three minutes to play.
After a Lewis free throw cut the Eagles’ advantage to 59-57, sophomore forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio) hit a jumper to extend USI’s advantage to four points.
USI, which had season-high 24 turnovers, got a pair of stops on the defensive end throughout the next two minutes to keep the Flyers at bay. Haithcock, who led the Eagles with 15 points, got a big offensive rebound with less than 40 seconds to play to give USI an extra possession and milk more clock in the process.
Lewis (8-5, 8-5 GLVC) was forced to foul three times just to get the Eagles into the bonus; and sophomore forward Tara Robbe (Wildwood, Missouri) connected on 1-of-2 free throws to put USI up 62-57.
The Flyers got a quick basket on the other end to cut USI’s lead to three points with 23 seconds to play and, following a USI turnover, had a chance to tie the contest in the final 10 seconds of regulation.
Freshman guard Jenna Badali, who led the Flyers with a game-high 19 points, missed what would have been the game-tying three-pointer from the top of the key and senior guard Emma DeHart (Indianapolis, Indiana) grabbed the rebound for the Eagles, who saw their lead increase to five points with a pair of Haithcock free throws.
DeHart and Robbe each had 12 points for the Eagles, who shot 44.4 percent (24-54) from the field and 40.0 percent (8-20) from three-point range. Robbe added a team-high eight rebounds for USI, which held a 38-32 advantage on the glass.
The Eagles also got 10 points and four assists from sophomore guard Addy Blackwell (Bloomington, Indiana), whose three-pointer with five minutes to go in the game put USI up 59-48.
USI, which used an 11-4 run to end the first half with a 34-27 advantage, held the Flyers to just 8-of-27 (.296) shooting in the first half, 2-of-11 (.182) from behind the arc.
Lewis cut USI’s advantage to four points early in the third quarter, but three pointers by senior guard Ashley Hunter (Flossmoor, Illinois) and Blackwell extended USI’s cushion to 42-32 five minutes into the second half.
Haithcock, who scored 11 points in the final 20 minutes, hit a three-pointer inside the final minute of the third period to give USI an 51-40 advantage; and the Eagles led 51-42 heading into the final 10 minutes of the game.
USI returns to action Saturday at 1 p.m. when it visits the University of Illinois Springfield for a GLVC East Division contest in Springfield, Illinois. The Prairie Stars (5-5, 5-5 GLVC) defeated McKendree University, 68-58, Thursday evening in Springfield.
