NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Backed by a stout defensive effort and a strong fourth quarter performance, the University of Indianapolis women's basketball team picked up their first win of the year on Friday afternoon, downing Merrimack, 57-43.
 
Senior Princess German led all scorers with 18 points for the Greyhounds (1-6), who limited the Warriors (2-4) to 23.5 percent (16-for-64) shooting and outscored the hosts 20-9 over the final 10 minutes en route to victory.
 
Sarah Costello chipped in with a season-high 13 points and Nicole Anderson picked up her second double-double of the year with 12 points and 12 rebounds to help the Hounds to a hard fought win.
 
"We took care of the ball better in the second half and that made a world of difference," Head coach Constantin Popa said. "Defensively, we did a good job limiting their chances and keeping them off the offensive glass. It was a very physical game and we told our kids to play tough and they responded. We were aggressive offensively in the second half and that's something that's been missing from our offensive game this year. We weren't waiting until the shot clock ran down and we were able to get some good looks and finish at the rim. "
 
UIndy opened up the game on a 6-0 run and following a German triple with 4:01 left in the first, the Hounds held an 11-6 lead. Merrimack answered with five straight points to tie the game for the first time, but UIndy closed out the first with an Emily Thomas jumper and an Anderson free throw to take a 14-11 lead after 10 minutes.
 
The two teams would go scoreless for the first 3:24 of the second half before a 7-1 run from the Warriors gave them their first lead of the day at 18-15. Buckets would be tough to come by for both squads for the rest of the quarter and Merrimack would take a 22-21 lead into the break, forcing 17 Greyhound turnovers in the first half.
 
The Hounds opened the second half with five straight points to re-take the lead. An Ashley Montanez jumper paired with a Costello triple put the Hounds up 37-34 at the end of the third quarter.
 
Leading 42-38 with 6:54 to play, the Hounds dug in at both ends of the floor to put the game out of reach. UIndy held the Warriors to just five points the rest of the way and used a 10-3 run to put the game out of reach. The Hounds went 5-for-8 from the floor over the final 10 minutes while holding the Warriors to 3-for-17 from the floor to close out the win.
 
"We've had struggles in the third and fourth quarter so far this year and today was the opposite of that," Popa added. "There's not a whole lot of time until the next one, so we told our kids to enjoy this one for a bit before we get ready for tomorrow. Today was a real character builder for our team and we should take some confidence from this one. We know we've got another tough one coming up tomorrow and we need to bring the same intensity to that one as we had today."
 
UIndy shot 43.2 percent (19-for-44) from the floor, hitting 21.1 percent (4-for-19) of their threes and 75 percent (15-for-20) of their free throws. Rebounds were 43-37 in favor of the Hounds. Merrimack held a 28-19 advantage in the turnover battle.
 
Next up for the Hounds is a showdown with No. 23 Bentley University on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off from Waltham, Mass. is set for 4:00 p.m.