INDIANAPOLIS – Playing in front of their home fans for the first time in over a month, the University of Indianapolis women's basketball team started strong and dominated down the stretch on their way to a 70-54 win over Indiana-Kokomo on Thursday night.
 
Three Greyhounds finished in double figures, with Martha Burse's 17 points leading all scorers. Nicole Anderson notched her second double-double of the year with 15 points and 12 rebounds and Sarah Costello added 12 as UIndy moved to 7-3 with the win.
 
"You always tend to shoot a little bit better when you're at home and it showed early on and down the stretch." Head coach Kristin Drabyn told WICR after the game. "We pushed the basketball early and down the stretch and that led to a lot of success on the offensive end. When you put pressure on the defense like that it causes problems and we were able to get a lot of good looks tonight."
 
After falling in an early hole, the Greyhounds took control of the game with a 14-0 run that spanned more than six minutes in the first quarter. Sarah Costello went 3-for-4 from long range in the opening frame as UIndy jumped out to a 21-9 lead after 10 minutes of play.
 
The lead would stretch to as many as 13 in the second quarter, but cold shooting and turnover issues allowed the Cougars to hang around. Kokomo closed out the second quarter with a 6-0 run to cut the lead down to 31-27 at the break.
 
UIndy went 13-for-31 from the floor in the opening half and outrebounded the Cougars 24-9, but 12 first half giveaways allowed the visitors to creep back within striking distance.
 
Kokomo closed the gap to a single point early in the second quarter as UIndy struggled to knock down shots. The hosts would bend but not break, holding onto the lead and eventually stretching their advantage to 45-39 at the end of the third. Anderson was the driving force offensively for the Hounds in the third, scoring eight of the team's 14 points in the frame.
 
Back-to-back layups from Jordan Cole to start the fourth quarter started a 13-2 UIndy run that essentially put the game out of reach. The Greyhounds held the Cougars without a fourth quarter field goal until Abby Scott knocked down a jumper with 3:45 left in the game. By then, the lead had ballooned to 58-43 and the Hounds were able to close out the win with ease.
 
UIndy shot 45.2 percent (28-for-62) from the floor but struggled from long distance, going 3-for-23 and missing their last 19 tries from deep. Defensively, the Hounds continued their recent dominance, holding the Cougars to 33.3 percent (18-for-54) from the floor and a paltry 4-for-20 from long range.
 
The Greyhounds dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Cougars 51-22 on the night. UIndy also controlled the game inside, scoring 48 points in the paint while surrendering 26.
 
UIndy will have some time off to enjoy the holiday break before they're back inside Nicoson Hall in two weeks, taking on Hillsdale on Thursday, Dec. 29 at 6:00 p.m.