Greyhounds overcome obstacles in final games
The University of Indianapolis women’s basketball team (17-8, 11-6 GLVC) lost to No. 16 University of Wisconsin-Parkside (21-4, 14-3) on Feb. 18.
“It doesn’t get any bigger than Parkside. They are at the top of the conference,” said Head Coach Constantin Popa. “They have a lot of experience.”
The Rangers started the game with a 10-0 run. UIndy fought back to tie the score at 22. However, with 19 minutes left in the game, the Greyhounds fell behind 37-26. The team bounced back twice within one but never got over the hump.
The Greyhounds defeated Lewis University (6-18, 4-12) 81-73 in the final regular season home game on Feb. 16. The special event honored senior guard Megan Gardner and injured senior guard Cayla Keegan. Junior guard Kristin Turner led all players with 25 points, six assists and six rebounds. Freshman Kelly Walter scored a career-high 21 points in the win.
“[Turner] is a very good offensive player and very skilled,” Popa said. “She hits big shots, but she’s not the whole team. We’ve got major players that can step up.”
Turner currently leads the Great Lakes Valley Conference in scoring, ranking third in assists per game and third in 3-pointers made.
The first half saw several lead changes as the Greyhounds worked to find their rhythm. After the Flyers led by three, UIndy went on a 17-3 run to gain control of the game. Lewis answered with a run of their own bringing the score to 37 even at the half.
The second half, however, was a different story as the Greyhounds jumped to a 17-point lead. Despite Lewis’ efforts to come back, the Greyhounds held on to their lead by hitting six free throws in the final minutes to keep the game out of reach.
The game saw the return of junior forward Sydney Weinert, who missed previous games due to an injury.
“[Weinert] has played a major role for our team this year,” Popa said. “I’m just happy she’s back. [The Lewis] game was a good start for her. We had some other people stepping up for her.”
Gardner also noted the brief loss of Weinert, describing how the team’s inside play was hurt. She also credited sophomore centers Eliza Wortman and Chas Lecher for stepping up in Weinert’s place.
The win was especially important after the team came off the only two-game losing streak of the season the previous weekend.
“We had a little setback the previous weekend,” Popa said. “We just had to pretty much focus on the next game and not worry about what happened in the past.”
On Feb. 11, the Greyhounds lost to Bellarmine University (13-11, 7-9) 86-67 in their biggest loss of the season. Sophomore Katy McIntosh led UIndy with 18 points, while Turner and Wortman contributed 12 each.
Just two days before, the team lost to archrival Northern Kentucky University (19-5, 12-4) 71-68 in a key divisional matchup. The two losses dropped UIndy from tied-for-first to third place behind NKU and divisional leader University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
Turner led all players with 36 points, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the Norse.
“Losing two [games] that weekend was tough,” Gardner said. “Unfortunately, it did not work out. We are now third in our division, which is really not where we want to be.”
The Greyhounds finish their regular season against St. Joseph College (13-11, 7-9) on Feb. 23. According to Popa, at this point, the team likely will host the first round of the GLVC tournament at Nicoson Hall.
Gardner noted the importance of these final weeks.
“The next two weeks are big for us,” she said. “We have been having good practices, so we all plan on winning out the rest of the season [and] then winning conference, which will put us in a good spot for the NCAA tourney.”
The GLVC tournament begins Feb. 26, followed by the semifinals and finals in Springfield, Ill. March 1-4.
