NEW ALBANY, Ind. – The IU Southeast women's basketball team defeated Brescia 90-88 in a high-scoring affair on Saturday.
 
Brescia jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first quarter, forcing an early IU Southeast timeout. IU Southeast used a 5-0 run by Lexi Starr to cut the lead to 9-7, but Brescia answered with back-to-back layups to extend their lead to 13-7.
 
A 7-2 run by IU Southeast cut the Brescia lead to one at 15-14. A jumper by Brescia made it 17-14, but a three by Linzie Wernert tied the game at 17-17.
 
Brescia used five straight points to take a 22-17 advantage. A 6-1 IU Southeast run tied the game at 23-23. A free throw gave Brescia a 24-23 lead, but a Linzie Wernert layup gave IU Southeast a 25-24 lead after one quarter.
 
A three by Karly Sweeney early in the second quarter gave the Grenadiers a 30-26 edge. After a jumper by Brescia made it 30-28, back-to-back layups by Grace Stapleton put IU Southeast ahead 34-28.
 
Brescia used a 7-0 run to take a 35-34 edge, but IU Southeast answered with a 6-0 run to swing the lead back in their favor at 40-35. Brescia responded with three straight three pointers to take a 44-40 advantage. Makenna Wilson connected on a three for IU Southeast, but it was Brescia who took a 44-43 lead into the half.
 
Back-to-back threes by Lexi Starr and Makenna Wilson to open the third quarter gave IU Southeast a 49-44 lead. Another Makenna Wilson three gave the Grenadiers a 52-46 edge.
 
Brescia cut the Grenadier lead to one at 52-51, but an 8-0 run extended the IU Southeast advantage to 60-51. Brescia responded with a 10-0 run to swing the lead back in their favor at 61-60.
 
An Ella Brown layup gave IU Southeast a 62-61 lead, but two free throws by Brescia gave the Bearcats the lead back at 63-62. Another Ella Brown free throw tied the game at 63-63, but a 7-0 run by Brescia put the Bearcats ahead 70-63. Brescia led 70-65 after three quarters.
 
IU Southeast cut the lead to one at 72-71, but a Brescia layup extended the Bearcat lead to 74-71. Brescia extended their lead to five at 79-74 with 4:36 remaining.
 
A three-point play by Linzie Wernert cut the Brescia lead to two at 79-77, but a layup by the Bearcats extended their lead to four at 81-77 with 4:15 remaining. Two Lexi Starr free throws cut the lead to two at 81-79, and a three-point play by Jesse Ledgerwood put the Grenadiers ahead 82-81 with 3:00 remaining.
 
Two free throws by Brescia gave the Bearcats an 83-82 lead with 2:25 left. Linzie Wernert connected on a jumper to put IU Southeast back ahead 84-83 with 2:07 remaining.

A layup by Jesse Ledgerwood made it 86-83, but a three by Brescia tied the game at 86-86 with 1:36 left. Taylor Treat connected on a layup with 1:09 remaining to put the Grenadiers back on top 88-86.
 
After a missed three by Brescia, Ella Brown connected on a layup to give IU Southeast a 90-86 lead with 26 seconds remaining. A layup by Brescia made it 90-88, and the Bearcats intentionally sent the Grenadiers to the free throw line with four seconds remaining to try to get the ball back.  
 
IU Southeast missed both free throws, but an offensive rebound by Linzie Wernert allowed the Grenadiers to hang on for a 90-88 victory.
 
"Great win for us," IU Southeast interim head coach Derek Sims said. "Brescia is a very good and well coached team. We learned from film this week and limited our unforced turnovers. Everyone on our roster made an impact on this game. Ella made some huge plays in the 2^nd half. Lexi stepped up offensively. Makenna set the tone in the third. Grace brought energy the whole game. Karly made huge offensive plays. Taylor was a menace on defense. Jesse made big plays in crucial moments. Skyler brought the defensive toughness, and Linzie played over 35 minutes. I had to beg her to come out!"
 
Linzie Wernert tied for the team-lead with 16 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Lexi Starr also scored 16 points to tie Wernert for the team lead. Makenna Wilson scored 12 points on a perfect 4-4 from the three-point line. Taylor Treat had 10 points and team-high nine assists. Karly Sweeney also added 10 points. Grace Stapleton had nine points, three rebounds and two steals. Ella Brown also added nine points. Jesse Ledgerwood had eight points, four rebounds, and a team-high three steals.
 
IU Southeast (6-7, 1-3 RSC) returns to action at home on Tuesday for a conference matchup against IU Columbus.