Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A late 16-4 run from six-seed Wayne State spelled doom for the third-seeded UIndy women's basketball squad in a 63-58 first-round loss Friday in the NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament.

In a contest that featured 14 ties and 20 lead changes, the Greyhounds (23-9) managed to grab a 54-47 lead – their largest of the game – on a 12-2 run with seven minutes left in the game.  The Warriors (22-7) responded with a 16-4 run that encompassed the closing minutes, quite literally stealing a hard-fought game to advance to the regional semifinals.

Up 61-58 with under a minute remaining, WSU's Shareta Brown stole a pass from Shelby Wall and took it the length of the court to put the Warriors up 63-58. The following UIndy possession Jackie Jones stole a Rose Savela pass with 10 tics on the clock to clinch the victory.

"It was a game of runs, and they had the last run," Coach Constantin Popa said after the game. "We got ourselves in a pretty decent position with a few minutes left but unfortunately we came out short."

"We had our opportunities," he continued. "It's not like we didn't get the opportunities to win the game."

A fast-paced, somewhat sloppy first half seemed to set the tone for the scrappy first-round contest.  The two teams combined to turn the ball over 19 times, and also weren't their usual offensive selves, but remained neck-and-neck for an exciting opening stanza.

Despite being two of the best shooting teams in the country, both squads turned in under 35 percent shooting efforts in the opening 20 minutes. They wouldn't fare much better in the second, with each barely eclipsing 40 percent. UIndy came in ranked third in the nation in field goal percentage (.476) with Wayne State a close fourth (.472).

It was just the fifth time this season the Greyhounds shot below 40 percent from the floor, and was their fourth-worst three-point shooting effort (5-for-20).

"We just couldn't hit shots," Popa said about the team's offensive struggles. "They changed up their defense a little, but I always say, 'I don't care what kind of defense you play, you have to hit shots.'"

Eliza Wortman, making her second start of the season, led the Greyhounds with 18 points, adding four rebounds and two blocks. Savela finished with 11 points and five rebounds, hitting three 3-pointers.

The pair were two of seven Greyhound seniors that finished with a 79-42 record as a class, marking the fifth-highest win total for any four-year stretch in program history.

"I've been trying to give everything I have my last stretch here," said Savela. "I was bummed because I got into foul trouble, but I still wish I could have done more in the second half."

"I knew it was my time to make it happen," Savela said, when asked about her recent string of strong performances. "It's ironic that because of injuries I got that opportunity since I've been on the other side of it myself earlier in my career."

"We had a lot of seniors and a lot of experience on that team," Popa said. "I wish we could go out with a little different memory this year, but I'm really proud of them."

Popa continued: "We went through good things, bad things, injuries, this and that, and they stuck together. You don't seen that a whole lot. With them we were a team for four years, and we put a lot of time in together. This was our family."

The Greyhounds finish the 2013-14 campaign with 23 wins, marking the 11th 20-win season and tying for fifth-most single-season wins in program history.

Brown, a Daktronics All-Midwest Region First Team selection, finished with her 18th double-double of the season, totaling 18 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Warriors. Des Lavita-Stephens added 16 points for WSU.

It had been 104 days since the Greyhounds handed the Warriors a lopsided 102-72 defeat in Indianapolis on the last day of November, marking WSU's worst defeat of the season. UIndy shot 54 percent in the win, including a strong 11 of 22 effort from long range, but couldn't duplicate that success Friday.  

Wayne State, making its third overall trip to the NCAA Tournament, advanced to last season's regional final before falling to eventual-national champ Ashland. It will wait for the winner of Lewis and Missouri-St. Louis in the semifinal game Sunday.