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INDIANAPOLIS- The UIndy women's basketball team (16-5, 10-3 GLVC) shot nearly 50 percent from the floor and 80 percent from the line in a 72-53 win against visiting Southern Indiana Saturday.  Three Greyhounds scored in double figures, including a game-high 25 points from junior Kristin Turner.

With junior Sydney Weinert sitting due to injury, Eliza Wortman (pictured) earned her first collegiate start Saturday.  The Germantown, Wis., native responded by producing her first double-double with an 11-point, 11-rebound effort, while also blocking four shots.  She has now scored in double figures in three straight games.

“We had a little setback with Sydney,” said UIndy Head Coach Constantin Popa, “but it was awesome to see Eliza step up like she did, and we got a lot of good minutes out of Chas (Lecher) also.  It's nice to see that people on the bench are ready to step up when we need them.  This is a team game and we need everybody on that bench, and they were ready.”

The Greyhounds' win helped them keep pace with Wisconsin-Parkside in the GLVC East Division race.  The Rangers earned a slim 56-54 victory over Northern Kentucky today to break a three-way tie atop the East, as now just UIndy and Parkside sport division-leading 10-3 records in league play.

“It's getting towards the last leg of the season and every game is very, very important," said Popa.  “We've got to be ready for every game and play for 40 minutes and that's what we did tonight.”

After a slow start from both teams, the action remained tight until the latter part of the first half.  With the Screaming Eagles (7-14, 1-12) up 15-14 at the 7:30 mark, the Hounds mustered a 15-2 run to jump out to a double-digit lead.

The Greyhounds looked to run, doing their part to live up to their nickname.  By pushing the ball, UIndy got out in front of the Eagle defense, leading to a number of easy buckets, especially in the second half.

“We looked to really kick the ball up the floor, especially off the rebound and off steals,” noted Popa, “and we asked our guards to get down the floor fast and look for opportunities to get lay-ups.  We did a really good job of that tonight and we got a lot of points in transition and on the inside.”

An Eagle 3-pointer cut it to a 30-22 count at the half, but the Hounds rallied again to quickly push it to 14 just out of the break.  UIndy would go on to lead by double digits for all but 90 seconds of the second half.

Not to be overlooked, UIndy shot 25 of 31 (.806) from the foul line.  On the season, the Hounds have made more free throws (295) than their opponents have attempted (268).

Turner hit three 3-pointers on the way to her game-high point total, extending her consecutive games streak of making at least one triple to 25.  She also had six rebounds and went 8-for-8 from the line.

Junior Nickole Gonser had 15 points, six boards and a block.

The Hounds hope to keep it rolling when they hit the road for a match-up with a hungry NKU team Thursday night.  Just five games remain in the regular season.