EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The LMU women's basketball team made a comeback to tie the game midway through the fourth period, but a late run by Southern Indiana gave the Eagles a lead that LMU could not overcome as they fell 72-63 Wednesday evening.

LMU took the lead quickly on a layup by Sydney Duggins. After USI hit a three pointer, back to back baskets by Rachel Griffith and Addi Kirkpatrick as well as free throws by Emily Griffith put LMU ahead 8-3 with 5:38 remaining. USI would cut it to two points twice more in the stanza, but a layup by Sydney Newsome as time expired had the Lady Railsplitters leading 14-10 at the end of the first quarter.

Free throws would end up being the key to the game as both teams combined for 55 total fouls and USI went 24-37 at the line compared to 13-19 for LMU. The fouls begin to take their toll in the second quarter, as Duggins and Emily Griffith had two fouls each in the first quarter, while six other LMU players had two fouls or picked up their second foul in the second quarter. That quarter alone had 21 fouls called between the two teams.

A three-pointer by Lindsay Proffitt and a free throw by Newsome gave LMU the 18-10 lead. Southern Indiana began to chip away, eventually tying the game 18-18 off an Ashlynn Brown jumper. The Eagles then went on a 14-2 run to run out to a 34-24 lead with 1:34 remaining before a Shermeria Quarles layup and a three-pointer by Dasia Maxwell cut the lead to 34-29 at the half.

LMU upped the defensive intensity that turned into four quick points by Rachel Griffith and Duggins off of fast breaks. The Lady Railsplitters would shoot 6.7 percent (8-12) from the field with a pair of three-pointers for the quarter and managed to take a 47-46 lead with 3:17 left in the quarter before USI would surge back ahead to take a 55-50 lead into the final stanza.

After a pair of free throws by Emma Dehart put the Eagles ahead 59-50, a Maxwell trey sparked a 9-0 LMU run that tied the game on a three by Proffitt with 6:15 left. USI then scored six quick points of their own and held LMU off down the stretch as they went on to capture the 72-63 win.

Maxwell led LMU with 13 points while Emily Griffith chipped in eleven, including an impressive 9-12 from the free throw line. Kirkpatrick and Quarles both had a game-high 10 rebounds each while Newsome led all players with four assists.

As a team, LMU went 38.6 (22-57) percent from the field, 37.5 percent (6-16) from behind the arc and 68.4 percent (13-19) from the free throw line. Conversely, Southern Indiana hit 37.3 percent (22-29) from the field, 23.5 percent (4-17) from three-point range and 64.9 percent (24-37) from the free throw line. The Lady Railsplitters did win the battle of the boards as they out-rebounded USI 45-38.

Kennedy Williams led Southern Indiana with 20 points, while Dehart and Imani Guy had 10 points apiece. Kacy Eschweiler had a near double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.

LMU will now turn to their home opener next Tuesday as they host King University on Hawaiian Night at 6:00 pm in the Tex Turner Arena. The Tornado are currently 1-1 on the season with a win over Coker and a loss to Tusculum. They will host local arch-rival UVa-Wise Thursday evening before making the trip to LMU next week.