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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Eliza Wortman poured in a career-high 21 points off the bench for the fourth-seeded UIndy women's basketball squad in a 78-74 win over fifth-seeded Missouri-St. Louis in the second round of the Deaconess GLVC Championship Tournament.
UMSL (21-7 13-5 GLVC) handed UIndy (23-7, 13-5) a lopsided 85-64 defeat nearly one month ago in regular season play, but Wortman, who missed that game with an injury, was facing the Tritons for the first time this season.
The Greyhound senior went 10 of 13 from the floor, helping UIndy finish with an overwhelming 51-3 advantage in bench scoring.
UIndy shot .625 (25 of 40) against the Tritons, who came in with the third-best field goal defense in the league, setting a GLVC Tournament record for team field goal percentage.
The Crimson and Grey defense also helped flip the script of the teams' first meeting. After surrendering 85 points on .558 shooting in the Feb. 8 game, the Hounds held UMSL to just .380 (27 of 71) from the floor.
Trailing 37-32 at the half, UIndy opened the second on a 7-0 run, completely erasing the double-digit lead UMSL built in the first half. The Hounds took a 39-37 lead on
Dajana Jovanovic's layup just three minutes into the second period.
For a few minutes the two squads went back and forth, but UIndy unleashed a 14-1 run to take a 55-45 lead with nearly nine minutes left. The Greyhounds' largest margin came with just over two minutes left, as Jovanovic sank a free throw to give UIndy a 69-57 lead.
The Tritons then attempted to stage a double-figure comeback of their own, hitting four threes in the final two minutes. They got as close as 76-73 with 30 tics left, but UIndy went 13-for-15 from the charity stripe in the closing minutes to seal the victory.
UMSL, averaging just five threes per game, connected on 12 of their 29 attempts, largely making up for its .357 mark from two-point field goals.
Coming into the game, the Tritons held opponents to just .389 shooting from the floor and 59 points per game, ranking third and first in the GLVC, respectively. The Greyhounds left both of those figures in the rearview mirror, as their .625 shooting percentage and 78 points were both the most allowed by UMSL all season.
Jovanovic, part of the high-scoring UIndy bench, finished with 12 points and four assists.
Megan Birchmeier totaled nine points behind 6 of 6 free throw shooting, sinking several clutch freebies as UMSL was making its late push.
After setting a career high with 20 points in their previous meeting,
Kirsten Gliesmann finished with nine points and four rebounds Thursday, playing just 12 minutes while battling foul trouble.
Like the first meeting between the teams, UMSL outrebounded UIndy, collecting several more offensive boards. The Tritons finished with a 21-4 edge in offensive rebounds, turning them into 19 second-chance points.
UMSL had three starters in double figures by halftime, and were led by Alexis Lawrence (22 points), Alyssa Like (21) and Hazaria Washington (18) in scoring. UIndy held All-Conference first teamer Devonna Smith to six points, partially by getting her into early foul trouble. The Triton reserves combined to go 1-for-9 from the floor, compared to 18-for-25 for the Greyhound bench.
The Hounds advance to their third GLVC Tournament semifinal in four years, returning for the first time since the 2012 season. They face No. 8-seed Maryville in the semis after the Saints upset top-seeded Drury this afternoon. Tip time is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. ET at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.
