Missouri S&T (7-13, 3-10 GLVC): 76
Southern Indiana (10-11, 3-10 GLVC): 69
ROLLA, Mo.-Despite a dominating effort in the paint, University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball had no answer for the three-ball Saturday as host Missouri University of Science and Technology defeated the Screaming Eagles, 76-69, in a Great Lakes Valley Conference bout.
USI (10-11, 3-10 GLVC) outscored the Miners 50-26 in the paint, but Missouri S&T connected on a season-high nine three-pointers, including six in the second half, to hand the Eagles their 10th consecutive loss.
The Eagles jumped out to quick 6-0 lead to open the contest, but a 17-2 Missouri S&T outburst put the Eagles into an early nine-point deficit.
USI ended the opening period by scoring seven straight points to trim Missouri S&T’s lead to 19-17; then scored the first four points of the second frame to take a brief two-point advantage.
Missouri S&T, however, used an 8-0 run late in the second quarter to forge a 33-30 halftime advantage. The Miners outscored the Eagles 24-18 in the third period to extend their advantage to nine heading into the fourth quarter.
After falling behind by as much as 10 points early in the fourth period, the Eagles used a 9-2 run to cut Missouri S&T’s advantage to 62-59 with five minutes to play. The Miners, however, drained a pair of three-pointers in their next two possessions to turn away USI’s surge and push their advantage back to nine points with 3:27 to play.
Missouri S&T, which ranked 15th in the GLVC in made three-pointers per game (3.84) heading into the game, sealed the Eagles’ fate two minutes later as it drained its ninth three-pointer of the game to push its lead back into double-digits (73-63).
When the dust was settled, the Miners ended the day by shooting 52.8 percent (28-53) from the field and 50.0 percent (9-18) from long range. USI, meanwhile, shot 47.0 percent (31-66) from the field, but was just 2-of-22 (.091) from behind the arc.
USI, which out-rebounded the Miners, 39-25, also struggled from the free throw line, where it went just 5-of-12 (.417). Missouri S&T was 11-of-13 (.845) from the charity stripe.
Junior forward Hannah Wascher (Rantoul, Illinois) led the Eagles with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while sophomore guard/forward Kaydie Grooms (Marshall, Illinois) added 17 points and eight rebounds. Junior guard Tanner Marcum (New Albany, Indiana) added 10 points, six assists, and four steals.
Missouri S&T was led by junior guard Raetchel Gray, who had 24 points, and sophomore guard Janie Arand, who finished with 18 points.
USI returns to action Thursday at 5:15 p.m. when it hosts Maryville University at the Physical Activities Center.
