The IUS women’s basketball team remains undefeated in their conference as they head to the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.
The Grenadiers defeated the St. Louis College of Pharmacy Eutectics 101-33 on Feb. 21, in the Activities Building.
The Eutectics came to New Albany with a disadvantage.
All but their starting five players had to stay in St. Louis because they were on academic probation, which meant they were left to play the entire game without any rest outside of halftime, a timeout or the occasional trip to the free-throw line.
Susana Hurtte, Saint Louis College of Pharmacy guard, said she was proud of her teammates for playing hard and completing a tough academic curriculum.
“We’ve had a couple of girls who are ineligible,” Hurtte said. “One was sick, a couple of them flunked out of our school, unfortunately, but we still go out there and try to have fun.”
Fatigue set in early for the Eutectic players and the Grenadiers capitalized on their exhausted opponents’ mistakes.
The Grenadiers took control of the game early. In less than three minutes of the first half, they led the Eutectics
24-0.
Whitney Duncan, sophomore guard, ended the night with 15 points, most of them off Eutectic turnovers that she turned into easy baskets.
In addition to her 15 points, Duncan had eight assists and forced five steals.
“I always play hard on defense, but, for real, that was like practice for us,” Duncan said.
Duncan said despite the easy victory, she and her teammates must keep their skills sharp for the conference tournament.
Robin Farris, head coach, said it was nice to let all of his players have playing time and not have to worry about the score.
“We didn’t want them to get sloppy or pick up any bad habits, but we weren’t going to press this team or play our starters the entire game,” Farris said.
By the end of the game all 16 Grenadiers had contributed to the victory.
IU Southeast was efficient from behind the 3-point arc, hitting 12 of their 27 attempts.
Jenna Richie, senior guard, hit all three of her 3-point attempts, and finished her final home game at IU Southeast with 13 points.
“I think I played well,” Richie said. “I have been kind of struggling with shooting, but I was feeling it a little bit tonight, and I’m glad we won by a lot.”
Andrea Chambers, senior forward, was also happy with her performance. She acknowledged the disadvantage and tough performance of the Eutectic players.
“They have come out with five girls for probably half of the season and still play hard, so I give them credit,” Chambers said.
Chambers and Richie, the team’s graduating seniors were honored before the game.
Farris said he wishes he could have more players like Chambers and Richie.
“They go to class, they work hard in practice and they play hard in games,” Farris said. “You really just can’t say enough about them.”
By MICHAEL MARCELL
Staff Writer
mdmarcel@ius.edu
