NORTH CANTON, Ohio – The University of Indianapolis women's basketball team tipped off the regular season on Friday night, taking on the Cavaliers of Walsh University at Alumni Arena.
 
The Hounds and the Cavaliers were locked in a tight battle early in the first quarter, but a 13-0 Walsh run to close the opening frame gave the Cavs a lead they would not relinquish. UIndy closed the gap to as little as two points early in the second half before going cold the rest of the way in a 60-44 loss.
 
Senior Princess German led the Greyhounds with 16 points on 5-of-15 shooting and Tina Negoescu came off the bench to chip in with 11 points, knocking down a team-high three three-pointers. But the 23 Greyhound turnovers played a major role in Friday night's defeat.
 
"I think our biggest issue again tonight was our ability to take care of the ball," said head coach Constantin Popa. "We had a few moments where we were in the game early and getting back in the game in the third quarter, but when you gift the opposition 23 turnovers, that's hard to overcome. We played well at times but we need to focus on putting together a full 40-minute effort going forward."
 
The two teams exchanged three leads in the opening five minutes of the game and after a pair of free throws from Nicole Anderson with 4:53 to go in the first, UIndy held a slim 9-8 lead. It was the last time they found the net in the quarter as Walsh poured in 13 consecutive points to take a 21-9 lead after 10 minutes.
 
UIndy shook off their slow start and responded by going 7-of-11 from the floor in the second quarter with Negoescu pouring in all 11 of her points in the frame, helping cut the Walsh lead to 31-26 at the break.
 
A free throw and layup from German to open the second half cut the Cavaliers' lead to 31-29 with 7:38 left in the third, but the iron was unkind to the Hounds for the rest of the night as UIndy would connect on only six field goals the rest of the way. Walsh ripped off a 12-3 run to re-claim a double-digit lead and would add to it in the fourth quarter en route to the win.
 
UIndy shot 34.9 percent (15-for-43) from the floor, going 5-for-23 from long distance. At the other end, the Cavaliers shot 35.7 percent (20-for-56) on the night, connecting on five of 18 tries from deep.
 
Rebounds were 36-32 in favor of the Cavs with Ashley Montanez grabbing six to lead the Greyhounds. Walsh committed only 13 turnovers while forcing 23, picking up 19 points off UIndy mistakes.
 
"We had some good possessions on offense and we had some players do a nice job tonight," Popa added. "We need to focus on sharing the ball and we're still looking to find some consistency within our system. There's not a whole lot of time to get ready for the next one, so we've got to be ready to put this one behind us tomorrow. We know we've got to limit our mistakes and if we do that, we'll be in better shape to come away with a win."
 
The Greyhounds will have a quick turnaround before facing off with Malone University on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off from Canton, Ohio is set for 1:00 p.m.