ASHLAND, Ohio – Off to their best start in four years, the Greyhound women's basketball team faced a stiff challenge on Saturday afternoon in the form of the fifth-ranked team in the nation, the Ashland Eagles.
 
UIndy battled back from a slow start to cut the Ashland lead to two points midway through the second quarter. But a late first half surge from the home team proved to be too much as Ashland (3-0) handed the Greyhounds (3-1) an 88-66 defeat, the first loss of the year for UIndy.
 
"This is a top-five team in the country for a reason and for our kids to see what that looks like in person is big," Head coach Kristin Drabyn told WICR after the game. "It shows what we have to strive for as a program and it's good for our kids to be tested like that early in the year. We competed well for stretches of time but we also had some stretches that ended up costing us. We showed that we can play with a top team but we need to do it more consistently to get where we want to go this year."
 
The nationally-ranked Eagles blitzed the Greyhounds out of the gate, opening up with a 9-0 run in the game's first 1:36. But the Greyhounds would pick themselves up and battle back, getting within four points at 23-19 at the end of the first quarter.
 
UIndy stayed within striking distance for the first five minutes of the second quarter, getting within one possession at 29-27 with 5:22 left in the half after a bucket from Nicole Anderson. But it was as close as the Hounds would come to knotting things up as Ashland closed out the first half on a 13-4 run to take a 42-31 lead into the locker room.
 
Feeding off their strong end to the first half, the Eagles put the game out of reach in the third quarter, outscoring the Greyhounds 28-21 in the frame to make it a 70-52 game after 30 minutes. The lead would grow to as many as 24 points before the final horn sounded.
 
Sydney Brackemyre led the Greyhounds in scoring, going 10-for-16 from the floor for a career-high 26 points. Martha Burse cracked double-figures for the fourth straight game, pouring in 15 points and adding a game-high eight assists. UIndy shot 37.1 percent (23-for-62) from the floor and 31.6 percent (6-for-19) from long range on the afternoon.
 
Ashland's Laina Snyder had a big afternoon, scoring 29 points, grabbing 14 boards and recording six steals. Julie Worley (14 pts) and Jodi Johnson (13 pts) also cracked double-digit points for the Eagles, who shot 49.3 percent (36-for-73) from the floor and out-rebounded the Hounds 46-36.
 
The Eagles held a decisive 52-18 advantage in points in the paint and turned 19 Greyhound turnovers into 18 points at the other end.
 
UIndy will look to get back in the win column on Friday, Nov. 25, when they take on St. Edward's (Texas) in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Tipoff from Roberto Clemente Coliseum is set for 1:00 p.m. eastern time.