HILLSDALE, Mich. – A little over 24 hours since their thrilling season-opening win over Hillsdale, the UIndy women's basketball team was back in action Sunday afternoon for their final game of the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge. With a home-heavy schedule through the rest of the month, the Hounds were looking to start their season 2-0 on the road against a pair of tough in-region opponents. On the docket for today was the Wildcats of Northern Michigan, who were picked to win their division in the GLIAC this season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Wildcats took the lead in the first quarter and did not look back. NMU led UIndy by as much as 11 in the game's opening quarter. UIndy hung around, made a late run in the first quarter to only trail the Wildcats by six heading into the second quarter.
Taylor Drury scored 10 points in the first quarter, including five in the final minute and a half.
Drury and the Hounds picked up where they left off in the first quarter immediately in the second. Drury knocked down her second three of the game on the team's first possession to cut the Wildcat lead to just three. The Hounds went on a brief three minute scoring drought, before coming back with vengeance. Before the first half came to a close, UIndy cut the lead down to three before Northern Michigan hit a layup as time expired, going into the locker room down just five.
After scoring 18 in the first half, Drury did not take long to sink another shot. Like the second quarter, Drury knocked down a three on the team's opening possession, pulling the Hounds back within one possession. The Hounds tied the game with six minutes to go in the third after another Drury three, her fifth of the game. NMU and the Hounds would go back-and-forth through the end of the quarter before
Emma Benoit hit a layup with seven seconds left to tie the game heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
Like yesterday's win over Hillsdale, the final quarter brought plenty of action. Neither team could pull away from the other, with UIndy leading by as much as three at one point. NMU, up one, missed a three-point attempt with a little over 30 seconds left, UIndy got the ball back and called a timeout to set up a chance to take the lead. Coming out of the timeout,
Laura Thomas drove in, trying to take the lead, but had her layup blocked and UIndy was forced to foul. The Wildcats knocked down both free throws, UIndy had the ball down three. With the time winding down, Drury had a look from deep three-point range, but came up short and the Wildcats held on to the last second win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
-UIndy pulled down 13 offensive rebounds against the Wildcats, totaling 12 second-chance points. The 13 offensive rebounds was the most in a game for the Hounds since they grabbed 15 against Maryville last season.
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Taylor Drury's five three-point field goals was the most by a UIndy player since Drury hit five three's last year against William Jewell.
-The Hounds shot 42.3% from the field, outshooting the Wildcats by .2%, they have outshot their opponents in their first two games of the season for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
HOUND BYTES
Head coach Kristin Wodrich thoughts on the game, "we learned that you cannot afford to have as many turnovers as we did against a team like this in the first quarter. We need to be able to be ready to play from the get-go.
Wodrich on Taylor's Drury's 25-point performance, "it was a good game for her today since she did not hit as many shots yesterday and was in a lot of foul trouble. I am proud of her effort coming out today looking to score and be aggressive and she did that for us."
Wodrich's on her team's offense down the stretch and the game's final play, "Taylor [Drury] had been hitting all game. They pushed everything and we were not getting anything out of it, they were trying and we have to clean some stuff up and we will get back to work on Monday."
UP NEXT
The Hounds return home for a four-game home stand, starting this week with their home opener against Northwood, tipping-off at 7 p.m. EST in Nicoson Hall.
