Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne shot 63 percent from the field in the second half and defeated Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 91-74 in women’s college basketball action Tuesday night.
Micah Jones / Photo by SIUE Sports Information
IPFW’s Amanda Hyde set a Vadalabene Center record with 41 points. She shot 10 of 12 from the field with three 3-pointers and hit 18 of 21 shots from the free throw line.The old record of 40 was set by former SIUE All-American Misi Clark in 2000 against Kentucky Wesleyan.
“IPFW is a good team, and Hyde was a tough matchup for us tonight,” said SIUE Head Coach Paula Buscher.
SIUE, 1-4, countered with a season-best 25 points from forward Micah Jones. The freshman shot 9 of 14 from the field and hit 7 of 11 shots from the free throw line.
“Micah did a nice job,” said Buscher. “When she gets the ball, she wants to take it to the basket and score. Her competitiveness is what I like to see.”
SIUE held in the lead in the first half of 31-26 on a layup by Allyssa Decker with 3:42 left to play. The Mastodons, (3-4), hit three 3-pointers in the final two minutes and went into the locker room at halftime with a 43-35 lead.
IPFW opened the second half with a jumper by Haley Siebert to go up by 10. The Mastodons added seven 3-pointers in the second half and finish with a season-high 12 3-pointers. Rachel Maul scored 20 for IPFW and Rebecca Bruner added 14. IPFW shot 51 percent from the field overall.
“We need to put in some work defensively,” said Buscher. “We’ve been showing the players a lot of things on film, but now we need to buy in and take care of it in the game. We’ll be all right. We just have to keep pushing.”
The Cougars now begin a seven-game road trip that takes the team away from the Vadalabene Center for more than a month. The trip begins with the UCF Thanksgiving Classic Nov. 30 against Delaware in Orlando, Fla.
SIUE’s next home event is Dec. 28 when the Cougars open the Ohio Valley Conferenceseason against Belmont.
“I know it’s not until late December, but the next time we step out here in front of our home fans we will be a much different team,” said Buscher.
