University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball concluded USI Thanksgiving Classic with a 79-61 loss to Michigan Tech University Sunday afternoon at the Physical Activities Center. USI sees its record go to 5-1 overall, while Michigan Tech goes to 4-1.

The Screaming Eagles fell behind in the first two quarters of the game, trailing by as many as seven points four times. The score was tied 4-4 at 7:23 of the opening quarter before the Huskies took the lead and held it through halftime, posting 38-32 lead at the intermission.

Senior guard Tanner Marcum (New Albany, Indiana) had the hot hand for the Eagles in the opening half, posting nine points on four-of-four from the field and one-of-one from long range for nine points. Junior forward Kaydie Grooms (Marshall, Illinois) tied Marcum for the team lead in the first half with nine points.

The third quarter saw the Huskies turn up the heat as they outscored the Eagles, 26-10, and took command with a 64-42 advantage at the end of 30 minutes. USI shot 12.5 percent (1-8) during the deciding third quarter, compared to the 45 percent (9-20) by Michigan Tech.

In the fourth quarter, the Eagles trailed by 24 points early, 66-42, before cutting the deficit to as few as 15 points, 70-55, with 4:57 left. That would be as close as USI would get before the buzzer sounded on the 79-61 loss.

Marcum and Grooms finished on top of the Eagles scoring column with 11 points each, while sophomore center Kacy Eschweiler (St. Charles, Missouri) ended the game with a team-high six rebounds.

USI hits the road this week to open Great Lakes Valley Conference action, traveling to McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois, December 1, and the University of Illinois Springfield in Springfield, Illinois, December 3. The Eagles return the friendly surroundings of the PAC December 7 when they host a non-conference match-up with Kentucky State University.

In Sunday’s first game, eighth-ranked Bellarmine University defeated Young Harris College, 73-55.

Evansville set to return home on Wednesday

Ryan Taylor reeled off the first 11 points of the game and finished with a career high of 22 but Middle Tennessee State overcame his efforts to earn a 66-55 win over the University of Evansville men’s basketball team in Sunday’s final game of the Challenge in Music City at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium.

Taylor paced the Purple Aces (2-4) with his 22 tallies as he went 8-of-13 from the field and hit three triples.  Willie Wiley was next in the scorebook with 9 points.  He also had five rebounds.  In his first start at UE, Sergej Vucetic finished with four points and a team-best six rebounds.  David Howard matched his mark on the boards.

JaCorey Williams led MTSU (6-1) with 25 points, ten rebounds and four assists.

“We had stretches where we played extremely well and did some good things in all three games,” UE head coach Marty Simmons said.  “There are a lot of positives we can take away and get better moving forward.  We are thankful to all of those who came down here to support us, it means a ton.”

Middle Tennessee State scored the opening five points of the game and extended the run to 9-3 as they hit four of their first five shots of the night.  Ryan Taylor kept the Aces in the contest as he scored the first 11 UE points as the squad took their first lead at 11-9 with 15:08 left in the first half.

Taylor helped the Aces post a 16-0 run.  Down 9-3, the Aces made the run to take a 19-9 lead.  Willie Wiley capped off the run with a jumper while Taylor was responsible for 13 of the tallies.  The Blue Raiders fought their way back as eight early JaCorey Williams points saw them cut the gap to three at 22-19 inside of 9-minute mark.  They continued to fight back as the half wound down, hitting a pair of free throws to make it a 29-29 game at the break.

After Sergej Vucetic hit a layup in the first possession of the second half, Giddy Potts hit a trey to give MTSU its first lead since the opening moments of the game.  Six lead changes led to a 39-38 Blue Raider lead.  At that point, they went on a 10-2 run to take a 49-40 advantage, their largest edge of the game.

Their lead reached as many as ten before the Aces made their way back.  A quick 5-0 spurt got the Aces back within five at 54-49 with five minutes left, but the Blue Raiders were able to counter, going up by as many as 13 before finishing with the 66-55 final.

Evansville will be back at the Ford Center on Wednesday to face Wabash.  Game time is 7 p.m.

University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball opened USI Thanksgiving Classic action with an 81-48 victory over Young Harris College Friday afternoon at the Physical Activities Center. USI sees its record go to 5-0 overall, while Young Harris goes to 2-2.

The Screaming Eagles broke the game open in the second quarter and finished the first half with a 17-2 runs to lead 44-21 at the intermission. USI senior guard Tanner Marcum (New Albany, Indiana) led the Eagles’ offensive charge with 18 first half points.

Marcum was seven-of-13 from the field, three-of-six from long range, and perfect on her one attempt at the charity stripe.

USI increased its advantage to as many as 35 points, 78-43, in the second half and cruised through final quarters to an 81-48 final. Young Harris never closed to within fewer than 20 points of the Eagles during the final 20 minutes as USI racked up 14 steals and forced 26 Lion turnovers.

Individually, Marcum finished the game with a game-high 21 points, picking up three points in the final two quarters on a three-point field goal. Senior forward Kaydie Grooms (Marshall, Illinois) followed with 11 points, while senior forward Hannah Wascher (Rantoul, Illinois) grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.

USI completes Thanksgiving Classic action Sunday at 2:30 p.m. when it plays Michigan Tech University. Michigan Tech saw its record fall to 3-1 after losing to eighth-ranked Bellarmine University, 78-62, in Saturday’s opening game.