RENSSELAER, Ind. – The UIndy women's basketball team wrapped up the regular season with a 51-49 loss at in-state Saint Joseph's College Thursday night at the Richard F. Scharf Alumni Fieldhouse. SJC freshman Hannah Albrecht knocked down the game-winning free throws with 5.4 seconds left to ultimately seal the win in perhaps the final Division II women's basketball game in school history*.
 
Junior Martha Burse led all players with 25 points in the losing effort. The final result pushed the Greyhounds (15-13, 9-9 GLVC) down to the No. 9 seed in the upcoming Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament, thus they will be on the road for Sunday's first-round match-up. UIndy will travel to eighth-seeded William Jewell for the right to go to the GLVC quarterfinals next week. Tip time from Liberty, Mo., is set for 2 p.m. ET.

Playing without injured starters Nicole Anderson and Sarah Costello – the team's third- and fourth-leading scorers, the Hounds leaned heavily on Burse, who scored nearly half the team's points. The junior from Kankakee, Ill., finished 10 of 21 from the floor with three assists and three steals.
 
Junior Sydney Brackemyre was the only other Greyhound in double figures, finishing with 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
 
The Greyhounds opened the game by scoring 10 unanswered points on the way to a 14-2 lead at the end of the first quarter. But the Pumas (12-16, 8-10) turned the tables in the second period, cutting it to four by halftime.
 
After Saint Joseph's scored on its first possession out of the break, the score amazingly remained within two the entire second half, with seven times and seven lead changes in the final 20 minutes.
 
Late in the game with the Pumas up a deuce, Burse nailed her patented pull-up jumper to knot it at 49 apiece with just 34 seconds left. With the clock fading, the Greyhounds appeared to get a stop on the ensuing Saint Joe's possession, but the Pumas pulled down a big offensive rebound to get a second chance.
 
The ball was kicked to Albrecht, who eventually got a screen and drove the left side of the lane before being fouled on her lay-up attempt. The freshman from The Crown Point, Ind., calmly sank both foul shots to make it 51-49 with just over five seconds to go.
 
UIndy had one last gasp but was unable to get a shot off, as the Pumas came away with the emotional victory.
 
The 2017 GLVC Women's Basketball Championship Tournament kicks off with four on-campus games this Sunday. The four winners will join the top-four seeds in Evansville, Ind., and the Ford Center for quarterfinal action starting Friday, March 3.


* Saint Joseph's College recently announced it would be closing its doors indefinitely in May.