LEBANON, Ill. – The UIndy women's basketball team used a huge fourth period defensively to put away the McKendree Bearcats Saturday afternoon, 56-45. In their first GLVC road game of the year, the Greyhounds had no problem avenging last year's loss in Lebanon, Ill.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Jumping out to a 9-2 lead early on, it was Shira Sasson and Paige Barrett paving the way for the Hounds on the offensive end of the floor. McKendree shook off their cold start to cut the UIndy lead down to three before a Taylor Dillard triple put the Greyhound lead to 15-9 after one. The second quarter was a back-and-forth affair with both teams trading buckets, but UIndy earned a 29-22 lead going into the break.
 
McKendree cut into the deficit early in the second half before going on to limit UIndy to just 10 points in the frame. The Hounds went into the fourth quarter looking to avoid another second half defeat like they have felt in the previous weeks but responded in a big way. UIndy put up a game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter while holding McKendree to nine points on 44 percent shooting. The defense is what clinched the game for UIndy in the fourth, forcing seven Bearcat turnovers while only coughing up the ball two times to beat McKendree by 11 points on their home floor.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
-Senior guard Mickey Sasson led the way for UIndy, scoring a career-high 12 points to top her previous career best of 10 points she set last season.
-Shira Sasson nailed a 3-point jumper early in the second half to give the Hounds a double-digit lead. The trifecta was the first made triple of Sasson's collegiate career.
-Saturday's win is the 10th win of the season. It is the earliest a Greyhound team has earned their 10th win since 2011-12. That group later made the NCAA tournament.
 
HOUND BYTES
Head coach Kristin Wodrich on her team's win...
"Everyone did what they had to do. It got really physical down the stretch and we needed people to step up. What stands out to me is how we fought in the second half; recently we have folded, turned the ball over, and we did not do that down the stretch today. We ran the offense the way we needed to and I'm proud of that."
 
UP NEXT
The Greyhounds are back in Nicoson Hall next Thursday when they host GLVC-newcomer Lindenwood at 5:30 p.m. ET.