Women’s basketball team claims 3 double-digit wins
The University of Indianapolis women’s basketball team is 3-0, snagging double digit wins consistently early on in the season.
UIndy took home their season’s first title after an 81-56 victory in the third annual Courtyard by Marriot Classic hosted by Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass Nov. 20.
Against the Merrimack Warriors, UIndy fell behind early as Merrimack opened up an early 10-22 lead with 13:36 left in the first half.
Turnovers and missed shots hit the Greyhounds during that stretch as the Warriors forced 11 Greyhound turnovers and held UIndy to 32 percent shooting from the field.
UIndy accumulated 15 additional points while holding Merrimack to a gain of only two, giving UIndy a one point lead with 2:09 remaining in the half.
Merrimack answered with an 8-2 run to close out the first half as UIndy found themselves down 27-32 at halftime.
In the first nine minutes of the second half, UIndy outscored the Warriors 25-5 led by freshman guard Shelby Wall.
Wall scored UIndy’s first 11 points in the second half including three 3-pointers.
Senior forward Samantha Meissel added 10 points in the second half as the Greyhounds shot 58 percent from the field.
Meissel was named the tournament MVP after a 30-point game on Friday against the Shepard Rams and a 17-point effort in the championship game.
Meissel now stands just nine points behind fourth place Debbie Law on the Greyhound all-time scoring list.
Meissel is now 284 points behind Elizabeth Ramsey for most all-time points scored by a Greyhound.
“I wouldn’t be able to do it without everybody else around me,” Meissel said. “It’s a personal goal, but it’s also a big team goal because it shows how much we work together as a team and how they get me the ball.”
On Friday, the Greyhounds led the Shepard Rams early in the opening round of the tournament.
At halftime, the Greyhounds found themselves up by a comfortable 44-26 margin.
In the second half, the Rams made a comeback and took the lead before freshman guard Katie McIntosh caught fire and put UIndy up for good.
“She [McIntosh]did really well,” Meissel said. “She’s a great off-the-dribble attacker and that’s exactly what we need her to do and that’s exactly what she can do. She’s probably one of our toughest freshman.”
McIntosh finished with 15 points adding to Meissel’s 30-point effort. The Greyhounds won the contest 82-71.
On Nov. 17, the Greyhounds won the season opener against Saginaw Valley State University Cardinals 74-64.
Meissel put up 23 points while ten other Greyhounds scored en route to the first win in the 2010-2011 season.
Saginaw Valley took the lead early in the game, but the Greyhounds eventually went ahead with 15:41 left in the first half after a Meissel 3-pointer made the score 10-9.
The Greyhounds never fell behind throughout the rest of the game.
A 5-0 run by the Cardinals at the end of the half closed the gap to 35-30 at halftime.
University of Indianapolis head coach Leann Freeland was unhappy UIndy didn’t record more steals.
“Our goal was to have 15 steals in the game, so to only have eight was a disappointment,”Freeland said.
Saginaw Valley never got to within four points of the Greyhounds in the second half as UIndy extended their lead to 12 with 3:33 left in the game.
Saginaw Valley responded with a late push, but UIndy triumphed with a 10-point victory.
Sophomore forward Nickole Gonser led the women’s basketball team with nine rebounds, one short of her career-high.
The Greyhounds forced the Cardinals into 21 turnovers including eight steals.
Including this win, the Greyhounds have won seven consecutive season opening games.
The Greyhounds are off until Friday Nov. 26 when they host Marygrove for the UIndy Thanksgiving Classic.
Tip-off for that contest is slated for 5:30 p.m. at Nicoson Hall.
