INDIANAPOLIS - With a 75-61 win against Kentucky Wesleyan Thursday night at Nicoson Hall, the University of Indianapolis women's basketball team (21-6, 13-6 GLVC) clinched a first-round home game in the upcoming Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament.  The victory came on Senior Night for the Greyhounds as UIndy's two seniors, Karla Mast and Deanna Thomson, combined for 21 points and 24 rebounds.

 

The teams traded leads through the first five minutes, but with the score tied at 10 with 14:36 left in the half, the Greyhounds scored nine straight points to create a cushion.

After its four-minute drought, KWC (13-13, 7-11) used the three-pointer to get back in it.  Following a pair of Panther lay-ups, Chelsea Kilty and Ashley Pait hit back-to-back triples to cut it to one.  A minute later, Pait hit another to knot it at 23 with 7:09 left.  The Lady Panthers shot 17 first-half threes and connected on six of them.

 

The Greyhounds managed another spurt over the half's final five minutes.  UIndy finished the period on a 16-6 run to take a 43-33 advantage into the locker room.  Mast tallied 13 points and five rebounds before the break while freshman Samantha Meissel added 12 points.

 

KWC would not threaten in the second stanza, as the UIndy lead never dropped below the halftime deficit.  The margin fluctuated between 10 and 12 for seven minutes, but with the Hounds up 53-41, UIndy ran-off eleven unanswered to take a 23-point edge, ultimately its largest of the game.

 

The Lady Panthers were able to whittle it back down to ten by the two minute mark, as they hit a three on four consecutive possessions at one point.  The Hounds hit the game's final two buckets, however, to earn the 14-point win.

 

Though the visitor's 11-made threes marked a season high for a Greyhound opponent, UIndy controlled the paint by out-scoring KWC 36-18 in the lane.  Meissel did most of her damage near the basket as she finished with a personal-best 25 points on 12-for-21 shooting.

 

Both Greyhound seniors finished their final regular season on a high note.  Mast registered her second straight double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, with the latter tying a career high.  Thomson, a Center Grove product, matched Mast's rebounding total while adding six points and two steals.

 

UIndy opens conference tourney play Tuesday, Mar. 4. at Nicoson Hall as the GLVC tournament will not be held at Roberts Stadium in Evansville, Ind. for the first time since 1998.  The top-four seeds will each host a quarterfinal game Tuesday, with the highest remaining seed hosting the semifinals and final the following weekend.  UIndy awaits the results of tonight's and Saturday’s contests to find out its quarterfinal opponent.  Tuesday's tip time is scheduled for 7 pm.