EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Indianapolis women's basketball team picked up a critical GLVC road win on Thursday night, taking an early lead and never looking back on their way to a 73-64 win over longtime rival Southern Indiana.
 
Princess German scored 18 of her game-high 25 points in the first half. The Gary, Ind.-native shot a season best 69.2 percent (9-for-13) from the floor and sank five of her eight three point attempts. Nicole Anderson had 13 points and Devin Ferguson added 10 to help UIndy improve to 6-14 on the year, 4-5 in the GLVC and snap a four-game skid against Southern Indiana.
 
Kaydie Grooms had 15 points to lead the Screaming Eagles, who continued their recent slide with the loss, falling to 10-8 on the year and 3-7 in league play with their seventh straight defeat.
 
"We played with a lot of urgency tonight," Head coach Constantin Popa told WICR after the game. "The last few games we waited until late to pick up the intensity and tonight we had it from the get-go. It was a different team that showed up tonight and that proved to be the biggest difference. We took care of the ball well and we hit our shots when we had them and when you do those two things, you're always going to have a chance to win.
 
After falling behind 9-6 in the opening five minutes, the Greyhound offense started to find its groove. Eight consecutive points from German put the Hounds in front and they would lead 17-14 at the end of the quarter. UIndy's defense forced seven turnovers in the opening 10 minutes that turned into 11 points at the other end.
 
The Screaming Eagles cut the lead to one at 19-18 with a Kaydie Grooms layup at the 7:33 mark, but the Greyhounds would put some distance between the two teams immediately after. Devin Ferguson knocked down a three and a layup on back-to-back possessions to start a 21-2 UIndy run that ended with a German free throw at the 2:02 mark.
 
Southern Indiana answered with an 8-0 run to close out the half, cutting the Greyhound lead to 40-28 when the halftime horn sounded. The Greyhounds knocked down 51.2 percent (14-for-27) of their field goals and 50 percent (6-for-12) of their threes in the opening 20 minutes.
 
The hosts would threaten to cut the lead to single digits throughout the third quarter but each time they were turned away by the Hounds. A layup from Anderson and a long three from Tina Negoescu right before the end of the quarter put the Hounds ahead 58-42 after three.
 
A layup from German with 8:08 to play stretched the Greyhound lead to 62-44, their largest lead of the second half. The Hounds appeared to be on their way to an easy win, but the hosts cut the lead to single digits with an 11-0 run that made 66-58 it 3:06 to play.
 
But Anderson squashed any further comeback attempt with a three-point play that stopped the run and the Hounds' defense held on for the win.
 
The Greyhound offense was efficient all night, shooting 49.1 percent (27-for-55) from the floor and 45 percent (9-for-20) from deep. UIndy's defense held the Screaming Eagles to 35.7 percent (20-for-56) from the floor. 37.5 percent (6-for-16) from deep and 69.2 percent (18-for-26) from the line.
 
Southern Indiana dominated the battle on the glass, out-rebounding the Greyhounds 45-27 with the 45 USI boards a season high allowed by the Greyhounds.
 
The Greyhounds excelled taking care of the ball, committing a season-low nine turnovers while forcing 15 Screaming Eagle mistakes.
 
The Hounds wrap up their current two-game road trip on Saturday night, traveling to Louisville, Ky. to take on the Knights of Bellarmine University. Tip-off from Knights Hall is set for 5:45 p.m. ET.