Box Score

INDIANAPOLIS-  The UIndy women's basketball team (10-3, 4-1 GLVC) endured a late comeback from Maryville to earn a 67-63 win at Nicoson Hall Thursday night.  Down 13 points with 7:30 left, the visiting Saints trimmed it to one with 59 ticks to go but couldn't quite nip the Greyhounds.

UIndy returned to Nicoson after four consecutive road games to welcome a hot Maryville squad.  The Saints (6-7, 2-3) won four straight heading into the night and certainly didn't make it easy on the Hounds.

“I'm happy and proud we gutted it out and got the win at the end.  That's the bottom line,” said Head Coach Constantin Popa, “but at times we got a little too excited and started throwing the ball away too much so we struggled a little bit in the turnover column."

The Hounds committed 22 turnovers in the game, easily their most since the season opener Nov. 12.

The opening 10 minutes featured 11 combined ties and lead changes, but a momentum-seizing run gave the home team control.

With the score knotted at 15 apiece, 3-pointers from Kelly Walter and Kristin Turner gave the Hounds some space, and the lead later hit 10 when Walter drove the lane for a deuce.

All told, the Hounds scored 16 straight points before the Saints could stop the bleeding, with the margin topping out at 13 at the 5:21 mark.  However, the Saints closed the half on a 10-2 run to make it a five-point game at first buzzer.

A huge advantage on the offensive boards kept the visitors afloat, as Maryville grabbed 11 offensive rebounds to help offset its 20-percent field goal percentage in the first half.

“We're still learning how to rebound,” noted Popa.  “We're making some progress, but we need to understand that we have to box out before we just run and get the ball.”

“We've got a couple of upperclassmen but a lot of our players are young, so there's a learning curve.  Hopefully we learn from some of the good things we did and also from some of the mistakes we made.”

Out of the break, UIndy again extended the lead to double figures.  The deficit remained above 10 for seven-plus minutes of play until the Saints again made a push.

Three-pointers from Abby Duethman and Shelby Miller helped Maryville come within a single point with a minute to go.

It proved too little, too late though, as just seconds later, sophomore Katy McIntosh took it all the way to the hoop for two, and later  sophomore Dajana Jovanovic sank a pair of free throws to all but put it away.

Turner continued her scoring spree with a game-high 23 points to maintain her place as the GLVC's top scorer.  She also added eight assists and two steals.

McIntosh finished with 11 points and junior Sydney Weinert had nine rebounds and five blocks.  Freshman Carly Lythjohan put in a career-high 16 minutes of work, chipping in five boards.

UIndy remains in town to host a Saturday matinee versus Missouri-St. Louis.  Tip time from Nicoson Hall is scheduled for 1 p.m. Eastern.