Box Score

INDIANAPOLIS-  The Greyhound women's basketball team opened the 2011 UIndy Thanksgiving Classic with a 73-54 win versus Saginaw Valley State Friday evening at Nicoson Hall.  The victory gave the Hounds their second straight “W” versus an in-region foe.

UIndy (2-2) made it back-to-back games with at least nine 3-pointers.  After sinking 9 of 14 shots from distance in last weekend's win against 3rd-ranked Michigan Tech, the Hounds drained 11 triples Friday, with three apiece coming from Kristin Turner and Kelly Walter (pictured).

The Cardinals (0-3) began the game in a 2-3 zone, but it didn't take long for the Greyhounds to shoot them out of it.  One two-minute span featured threes from Turner, Shelby Wall and Katy McIntosh, forcing a Saginaw timeout and a change a of plans.

“We were able to recognize the zone defense right away and move the ball well,” says UIndy Head Coach Constantin Popa.  “Obviously it makes a big difference when you hit shots, but every practice we work hard and get a lot of shots up so we can get that confidence and hit the big shot when it counts, and I think it made a big difference not only at the beginning of the game but throughout the game.”

The Cardinal man-to-man didn't fare much better, however, as the Greyhounds continued to be effective on offense.  UIndy slowly built a 34-18 lead by the break, thanks in part to a seven-minute field goal drought from the Cardinals.

In fact, Saginaw Valley had a series of scoring droughts in the contest, with much of the credit going to the Greyhound defense.

“We're getting better at communicating on defense as far as switching and making sure we know who we got at all times,” noted Popa. “We really emphasize the importance of communication and helping each other out in practice and I think it showed tonight.

“It was great to see.  There was some really good teamwork on the defensive end tonight.”

With senior Megan Gardner nailing a 3-pointer on the first possession of the second half, the margin continued to climb.  UIndy scored the first 16 points of the final period, as the Greyhound advantage eclipsed 30 points just five minutes in.

The cushion allowed the UIndy reserves to get some quality work.  Eleven Greyhounds garnered at least 10 minutes of playing time, as Walter and Dajana Jovanovic each chipped in 11 points off the bench.

“The bench played really well tonight,” added Popa.  “We got out in front and were able to rotate some people in without losing the lead.  That allowed our starters to rest a little bit and I think that will be a big help tomorrow since we play two games in two days.”

Turner paced the team with 13 points while adding five assists and two steals.  Jovanovic grabbed nine rebounds and junior Sydney Weinert had five blocks.

As Coach Popa eluded to, the Thanksgiving Classic concludes with two games tomorrow, starting with a Marian/Saginaw Valley match-up at 5:30 p.m.  UIndy concludes the event by hosting Northern Michigan at 7:30 p.m.