Despite a solid first-half effort, University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball suffered a 94-69 Great Lakes Valley Conference setback to No. 1 Drury University Thursday evening at Screaming Eagles Arena.
Trailing by six at the intermission, the Screaming Eagles could not keep pace with the visiting Panthers as Drury scored the first nine points of the third quarter to turn its halftime advantage into a commanding 50-35 lead.
Drury (11-0, 2-0 GLVC) went 10-of-14 (.714) and 3-of-6 (.500) from downtown in the third quarter as it extended its lead to 74-46 heading into the final period.
Senior guard Ashley Johnson paced the Eagles with a career-high 22 points, including 14 in a first half that saw USI hang tough with the Panthers. Johnson went 5-of-10 from the field in the first half as the Eagles trailed by just a point with less than three minutes to play in the second period.
In addition to Johnson, the Eagles got 10 points from senior guard/forward Morgan Sherwood as well as nine points from senior guard Kiara Moses.
Junior forward Emily Parker had 19 points to lead the Panthers, who shot 59.3 percent (32-54) from the field and 45.5 percent (10-22) from three-point range. Sophomore guard Paige Robinson added 18 points and five assists.
USI (5-3, 1-1 GLVC) shot 45.6 percent from the field, including a blistering 80.0 percent (8-10) in the fourth quarter. The Eagles, however, had 23 turnovers, including eight in the third period, that led to 31 Drury points.
The Eagles return to action Saturday at 1 p.m. when they host league newcomer Southwest Baptist University in a GLVC contest at Screaming Eagles Arena. The Bearcats (7-3, 1-1 GLVC) are coming off a 63-58 road win over McKendree University Thursday evening in Lebanon, Illinois.
