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EVANSVILLE, Ind.- The eighth-seeded UIndy women's basketball team (15-12) earned an impressive postseason win Saturday night, dropping No. 5 seed Southern Indiana 85-74 on its home court in the first round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament.  Sophomore Heather Gonser torched USI for a career-high 31 points.

Gonser's output marked just the third 30-point performance by a Greyhound this year, while also setting a new program mark for points in a GLVC Tourney game.  The Coal City, Ind., native missed just two field goals the entire game.

“Throughout the season, Heather has gained confidence in her offensive abilities,” said Head Coach LeAnn Freeland.  “Our coaching staff and her teammates aren't surprised by her offensive production tonight.   We see her abilities every day in practice.”

“I also give a lot of credit to Heather's teammates, who created shots for her on the perimeter and got her the ball when she was making hard cuts through the lane.”

Out of the gate, UIndy's effort on the offensive glass offset some early shooting troubles.  The Hounds earned six offensive boards in the first nine minutes alone, helping keep the game tight.

The shots started to fall for the visitors in the latter part of the first half, however.  Gonser and fellow-sophomore Kristin Turner burned the Eagles' 2-3 zone with back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Greyhounds a 20-17 edge at the 7:45 mark, their first lead since the early going.

The Greyhounds kept the gas pedal down for the remainder of the first half, leading by as many as 13 before the Eagles finished the period on a 7-0 run to make it 37-31 Hounds at halftime.  Gonser needed just 20 minutes to top her previous career high in points, as she led all players with 15 points at the break.

The intermission did little to cool Gonser's hot hand.  She drained a triple to start the second half scoring and went on to finish the game 6-of-7 from behind the arc.

USI (16-11) later began a full-court press, but the Hounds handled it well to continue keeping the Eagles at arm's length.  

The dagger came around the two-minute mark, starting when Turner earned a tough bucket while getting fouled.  She missed the ensuing free throw, but senior Katie Lyons earned the rebound and knocked down a short jumper seconds later.  The resulting four-point swing made it 73-60 Hounds, matching the game's largest lead.

The Eagles continued to battle to the bitter end, but the Greyhounds knocked down their free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Joining Gonser in double figures was Turner with 19 points and Lyons with 16.  Turner added five dimes and Lyons chipped in eight rebounds, two steals and a block.  Heather's twin sister Nickole Gonser matched a personal best with 10 boards.

USI's all-conference senior Ellen Young scored 34 points in the loss.

Saturday's win advances the Greyhounds to the quarterfinals next weekend.  UIndy and the five other first-round winners will travel to Maryville University in St. Louis Mo., Mar 4-6 to decide the 2011 GLVC champion.

Thanks to their 10-point win over Kentucky Wesleyan Saturday, the Northern Kentucky Norse (18-9) will be the Hounds' quarterfinal opponent Friday night at 9:30 p.m. EST.  Like UIndy, NKU earned a first-round road win by defeating Kentucky Wesleyan, 61-51, at the Owensboro Sportscenter.   Click here to view the official homepage of the 2011 GLVC Women's Basketball Tournament.