Wed., Feb. 11, 2009

   FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- University of Saint Francis senior Jamika Banks extended her double-double streak to eight games, but the was about the only good news for the Lady Cougars on Wednesday night.
   No. 22 Indiana Wesleyan University was the aggressor forcing USF into 28 turnovers and a sweep against the Lady Cougars with a 61-46 win at Hutzell Athletic Center.
  Banks, the Mid-Central College Conference double-double leader now with 13, was the only Lady Cougar to crack double-figure scoring with 17 points and 11 rebounds. IWU (19-8, 8-5 MCC) held MCC leading-scorer Marie Kaufmann to seven points and with the win the Wildcats took over sole possession of fourth place in the MCC.
  "We just didn't take care of the ball and create opportunities on offense," USF coach Gary Andrews said. "We missed some shots inside. We made too many mistakes to put us in possession to challenge, especially in the second half."
   IWU outscored USF 28-17 in the second half and held USF to 31 percent shooting. USF managed to hit just 5-of-16 shots. Led by Elaine Hessel's 21 points, 13 in the second half, IWU shot 46 percent in the second half hitting 10-of-22 shots.
   The two teams were tied four times in the first half and the lead changed hands seven times, but USF had trouble making stops or shots when they could have extended the lead. IWU broke out to an eight-point lead with 1:41 to play in the first half, but the Lady Cougars used a 5-point play to slash the deficit to 30-29 with 55 seconds to play. Jessica Teubert buried a 3-pointer and at the same time, Banks was fouled and made both free throws. Left-haned Kayla Thompson fired in a 3-pointer for a 33-29 IWU lead and Andrea Fichter stole the ball from Stacia Shepherd to end the half.
   Banks gave USF its last lead at 21-20 with 6:05 making the back side of a bonus free-throw opportunity. Lindsey Waggoner hit a 3-pointer for a 23-21 lead with 4:58 to play and IWU never trailed again.
   After Kaufmann scored cutting the deficit to 33-31 with 18:24 to play in the second half, IWU went on an 8-0 run to surge to a 41-31 lead with 14:52 to play. Hessel buried a 3-pointer for a 54-42 lead at the 5:05 mark to put the Wildcats in control. USF never got the lead to single digits again.
   USF resumes play at home on Saturday at 1 p.m. against Grace.