The IUS women’s basketball team defeated the St. Louis College of Pharmacy Eutectics 72-35 on Tuesday, Feb. 23, in the first round of the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament.
The win moved IU Southeast’s record to 21-8.
The loss ended the Eutectics’ season, as their record fell to 4-20.
Ashmere Woods, IUS freshman guard, led all scorers with 18 points, and tied two Eutectics, Courtney Wiedemer and Jenna Bailey, both freshman guards, for the game high in rebounds with seven.
Bailey led the St. Louis College of Pharmacy in scoring with 13 points. Her teammate Hannah Renner, freshman forward, added 10 points.
Before the game, IUS head coach, Robin Farris, said he felt defense was going to be the difference.
“We have to try to pressure them and force turnovers,” Farris said.
His players did just that, forcing St. Louis into turning the ball over 30 times, compared to just 13 for IUS.
The two teams exchanged baskets during the opening possessions of the game, but Woods knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Grenadiers a 7-4 lead, and they did not look back.
After a pair of turnovers by the Eutectics and unsuccessful possessions by the Grenadiers, Alden Krausse, IUS junior forward, scored on an up-an-under layup, giving IU Southeast a 9-4 lead with 15:00 left.
With 14:36 remaining in the half, the Woods stole the ball and got it to Megan Murphy, IUS sophomore forward who was fouled and made both of her free throws, prompting Eutectic head coach Ashley Eldridge to call a time out.
The Eutectics came out of the timeout with a layup by Susana Hurtte, sophomore forward, making the score 11-6, in favor of the Grenadiers.
Later in the half, the Grenadiers went on a 10-0 run, to put the game away. The run was highlighted by a 3-pointer, steal and
layup by Woods and a pair of blocks by Krausse. Over that span, the Eutectics turned the ball over seven times.
The run ended when the Eutectics scored on back-to-back possessions, cutting the deficit to 31-15 with 4:32 remaining.
The Grenadiers continued to build their lead for the remainder of the half and took a 40-19 lead into the locker room.
The St. Louis College of Pharmacy’s first basket didn’t come until nearly five minutes had passed in the half, when Renner made a jump shot.
The Eutectics scored again after an IU Southeast turnover and a layup by Bailey, bringing them to within 19 points.
The Grenadiers responded with a 3-pointer by Emily Conklin, sophomore guard.
On the next Grenadier possession, Murphy pulled down an offensive rebound, leading to a scoop layup by Hunsaker, giving IU Southeast a 47-23 advantage with 13:40 remaining.
Later, Hunsaker drove to the basket and was fouled hard as she went in for a layup. She made both free throws.
The gap continued to widen and reached its peak when the Grenadiers took a 66-27 lead with 6:20 left in the game.
After the game, Farris said he was less than happy about his team’s performance.
“It was a little sloppy,” Farris said. “They knew it wasn’t going to be a hard game and got complacent.”
Despite that, Farris said he did see some positive things in the game.
“We got to play a lot of people and didn’t get a lot of injuries,” Farris said.
By DERRICK HOLDRIDGE
Staff Writer
dvholdri@umail.iu.edu
