March 01, 2008

Southern Indiana Tops Women's Basketball, 78-68, in Final Game

BOX SCORE

EVANSVILLE, IND. – Playing its final game of the season, the University of Missouri-St. Louis women’s basketball team lost a 78-68 decision at Southern Indiana in Great Lakes Valley Conference action Saturday afternoon.

With the loss, the Tritons close out their season with a 7-20 record, including a 4-15 mark in the GLVC. Southern Indiana ends its season at 10-17, including 5-14 in the league.

Junior Mary Slaughter scored a career-high 24 points to lead the Tritons offense, bettering her previous high of 16 against Northern Kentucky earlier this year on January 24. Slaughter hit 9-of-15 shots from the field, while also pulling down five rebounds.

Southern Indiana jumped out to a 24-14 lead midway through the first half after making 10 of its first 15 shots and took a 40-32 lead into halftime.

Sophomore Lindsey Ransome added nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from three-point range, while senior Courtney Watts finished with eight points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

UMSL finished the contest shooting 46.2 percent from the field, including 59.1 percent in the second half. Southern Indiana shot at a 52.8 percent clip and held a 33-30 rebounding advantage.

The game also marked the end of the careers for UMSL seniors Taylor Gagliano, Amanda Miller, Leslie Ricker and Watts.

Gagliano ends her four-year career as the all-time three-point field goal percentage (39.1 percent) leader at UMSL, sharing the record with Amanda Wentzel, who also shot 39.1 percent from beyond the arc from 1998-2000.

Watts ends her career with her name etched in 11 different career categories, including assists (3rd - 365), free throws made (3rd – 274), steals (3rd – 142), free throws attempted (3rd – 365) and points (7th – 1,035).

Ricker ends her career ranked seventh all-time with 539 career rebounds and ninth with 189 assists.