Women’s basketball wins against GLVC foes
The University of Indianapolis women’s basketball team continued their win streak on Feb. 16, defeating the Kentucky Wesleyan College Panthers, 75-64. Following a three-game losing streak that dropped the Greyhounds from the national rankings, UIndy is now on a four-game winning streak that has put them back in contention for first place in the Great Lakes Valley Conference standings.
Junior guard Katy McIntosh had her second double-double of the season with 20 points and a career-best 12 rebounds. Two other Greyhounds scored in double figures as well, including sophomore forward Kirsten Gliesmann, who had 13 points, and senior forward Sydney Weinert, who contributed 11 points.
The Greyhounds maintained control for a majority of the first half, creating a lead that grew to as many as 13 points with 6:11 remaining. The Panthers responded, however, and went on a 24-7 run that gave them the lead at the half, 39-35.
In the second half, the Greyhounds responded to the late run in the first half by KWC and took the lead by one point with 18:24 remaining. From that point on, the Greyhounds never let the Panthers hold another lead in the game. Although the Greyhounds allowed the Panthers to come within one point on three occasions, the Greyhounds ended the game with an 11-point lead and the victory.
Earlier that week, UIndy defeated the University of Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles 70-66 on Feb. 14.
Junior forward Dajana Jovanovic amassed a career-best 19 points, shooting 6-of-10 from the field. McIntosh finished with 17 points, six rebounds and four assists. Weinert grabbed 11 boards for the Greyhounds.
“Jovanovic came out big for us. It was a career night for her, and she helped us out a lot,” said Head Women’s Basketball Coach Constantin Popa.
Both teams swapped 9-0 rallies to keep it tight early, with the score tied up at the 10:45 mark in the first half. The Greyhounds came back with a 7-0 surge, making the lead 33-28 at the half.
In the second half, the Greyhounds gained a nine-point lead, 43-34, with 13:58 left in the game. The Screaming Eagles came back, however, to tie the game with 8:31 remaining, but the Greyhounds made just enough plays down the stretch to hold off the Screaming Eagles.
According to Jovanovic, one particular Greyhound weakness stood out early in the game.
“One of our weaknesses was actually fouling,” Jovanovic said. “In the end, we limited our fouls and started blocking the shots.”
The Screaming Eagles made it a one-possession game with a mere 11 seconds remaining, making the score 69-66. But a free throw by McIntosh, with nine seconds remaining, sealed the deal for the Greyhounds.
According to Popa, the Greyhounds could not do as many fast breaks as they wanted, and the game was slower paced.
“I do like to push the ball a lot and they [the players] know that,” Popa said. “We did quite a few [fast breaks], but we can always do better.”
The Greyhounds also defeated the McKendree University Bearcats on the road, 71-60, on Feb. 9.
Popa said that McKendree was an easier team to play but that the Greyhounds had to play just as hard as they would against any other team.
“It did not matter who we played, did not matter what happened in the past,” Popa said. “We still had to go in there and be consistent, execute, and be focused and determined to win the game.”
McIntosh had a game-high 25 points, alongside 19 from senior guard Kristin Turner and 10 from junior forward/center Eliza Wortman.
McIntosh became the 20th female student athlete in the women’s basketball program’s history to score 1,000 points.
Earlier that week, the Greyhounds broke a three-game losing streak with a win over the Bellarmine University Knights, 81-67, on Feb. 7.
The Greyhounds shot 58.9 percent from the field against the Knights and were led offensively by Turner, who had a game-high 24 points.
The Greyhounds’ next game will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 21, when they travel to Lewis University.
