February 04, 2010

Turnovers Hamper Women's Basketball in Loss to USI

Box Score

EVANSVILLE, IND. – Southern Indiana took advantage of 25 turnovers by the University of Missouri-St. Louis women’s basketball team, scoring 30 points off the miscues, en route to a 75-66 victory Thursday night in Great Lakes Valley Conference action.

Sophomore Hailee Deckard scored a game-high 21 points in the loss for the Tritons, which fall to 10-12 overall, including 6-7 in the GLVC. Deckard finished the contest shooting 8-of-9 from the field.

Southern Indiana snapped a three-game losing streak with the win, improving to 16-6 and 6-4 in the league.

UMSL shot 43.4 percent from the field and held a 34-33 rebounding advantage, while the Screaming Eagles shot 46.2 percent.

Sophomore KeAmber Vaughn added 11 points, while pulling down a career-high nine rebounds.

UMSL hit four of its first five field goals to open the game with a 9-4 lead before a three-point bucket by junior Kelly Mitchell made the score 13-5 at the 13:56 mark. Southern Indiana then went on a 16-3 run taking a 21-16 lead at the nine and a half minute mark.

UMSL would outscore the Screaming Eagles 9-2 over the next three minutes to retake a 27-23 lead, but the host school would take a 34-30 lead into intermission after a late Tritons turnover resulted in a last second three-point bucket.

In a game that saw 17 ties and 13 lead changes, UMSL took its last lead of the game with just under seven minutes to play on a pair of Kiki Robinson free throws. The Tritons never led by more than three points in the second half.

Junior Kelly Carter chipped in nine points and tallied a team-best five assists.

UMSL returns to the court Saturday at Kentucky Wesleyan. Game time is set for 1 p.m.