The University of Southern Indiana women’s basketball team closed their part of the 2019 Bellarmine Thanksgiving Classic with a wire-to-wire victory over Trevecca Nazarene University, 83-60, Saturday afternoon at Knights Hall.
The Screaming Eagles (4-1) took the lead just 12 seconds into the contest with an elbow-jumper from senior guard Ashley Johnson and never saw a tied score or lead change for the remainder of the 40-minute affair.
Johnson and sophomore forward Ashlynn Brown each posted the game-high of 15 points, combining for a 61 percent shooting clip and 10 rebounds. Brown’s six boards tied junior guard Emma DeHart and senior guard Kiara Moses for the game-high in that category.
The Eagles opened the game on a 9-2 run fueled by seven of DeHart’s 12 points, sparking the USI offense to a 20-7 first-quarter tally. Freshmen forward Tara Robbe and guard Addy Blackwell came off the bench for a combined seven points in the opener.
The Trojans (3-5) found their way back to just a three-point deficit just-after the second-quarter media break, outscoring USI 18-8 over a seven-minute stretch of the second frame. The Eagles bounced back with a 12-4 run capped-off by a Blackwell three-pointer that gave her the team-lead in scoring at the break.
A three-pointer from senior guard/forward Morgan Sherwood halfway through the third quarter marked the final time Trevecca would be within single-digits in the game. The Eagles finally pushed their lead to 20 points just before the fourth-quarter media break on a Brown free throw.
Notes
Blackwell posted a new season-high in her freshman campaign with 12 points Saturday, her second time scoring in double-digits this season.
Johnson’s 15-point effort marks her third-straight double-digit performance, and fourth in five games thus far. Brown’s 15 points came one shy of tying the career-high mark she set in the road loss at Ferris State University last weekend. DeHart has also posted double-digit efforts in four-of-five this season with 12 points on Saturday.
USI out-shot the Trojans from the field (50.8 percent to 34.4 percent), out-scored them in the paint (32-28) and off the bench (31-21), all while leading all but the first 12 seconds of the contest.
Up Next
USI Women’s Basketball opens Great Lakes Valley Conference play with its first true-road game at McKendree University Tuesday.
The Eagles play their final non-conference game of the 2019-20 season with a visit to Ashland University on Sunday, December 22.
