NEW ALBANY, Ind. – The IU Southeast women's basketball team withstood a late Saint Mary-of-the-Woods rally to secure a 75-69 win on Wednesday.
 
IU Southeast scored 15 of the first 17 points of the game to take a commanding 15-2 lead five minutes into the first quarter. SMWC cut the lead to nine, but IU Southeast extended their lead to as many as 15 in the first quarter. The Grenadiers led 24-10 at the end of the first 10 minutes.
 
The Grenadiers extended their lead to 17 at 28-11 a minute into the second quarter. SMWC used a 10-2 run to cut the Grenadier lead to nine at 30-21 halfway through the second.
 
IU Southeast was able to extend their advantage to 13 at 34-21 and took a 36-23 lead into halftime.
 
The Grenadiers took a 17-point lead at 45-28 three minutes into the third quarter. SMWC cut their deficit to 14 at 47-33, but IU Southeast was able to extend their lead to 21 at 56-35.
 
SMWC used a 12-2 run to close the third quarter and cut their deficit to 11 at 58-47 at the end of the third quarter.
 
The Pomeroys opened the fourth quarter with 10 straight points to cut the IU Southeast lead to one at 58-57. Lexi Starr connected on a three to make it 61-57 IU Southeast.
 
SMWC came back to tie the game at 63-63 with just under five minutes to go. IU Southeast used a 7-0 run to take a 70-63 lead with 2:56 left.
 
The Pomeroys responded with a 6-0 run to cut the Grenadier lead to one at 70-69 with 1:45 left. Ella Brown connected on a pair of free throws to put IU Southeast ahead 72-69 with 1:42 left.
 
After a SMWC turnover, Taylor Treat drew a foul and connected on one of two free throws to make it 73-69 lead with 44 seconds left. The Pomeroys missed a jumper, and Ella Brown connected on a layup to secure a 75-69 win for IU Southeast.
 
"I'm happy with two and a half quarters tonight," IU Southeast interim head coach Derek Sims said. "Our mindset was what it needed to be all week for this game. We know we gave the game away when playing them in January, so they wanted to make up for that. Their length hurt us in the third and fourth quarters. We were able to get some free throw conversions in the fourth that helped us get the win. Ella has been practicing very well and it carried over to the game tonight. We wouldn't have won without her. Linzie didn't have a great offensive game but was solid on defense and rebounding the ball. Jesse and Lexi carried us offensively. Taylor set the tone on the ball defensively and made some big free throws. All in all, it was a good conference win. We need to have a similar mindset if we want to beat a very good Oakland City team."
 
IU Southeast was 4-4 from the free throw line until the fourth quarter, where the Grenadiers connected on 10 of their 12 attempts.

IU Southeast was led by Jesse Ledgerwood with 19 points, six assists, and five steals. Lexi Starr had 15 points, six assists, five rebounds, and three steals. Taylor Treat had 12 points and six assists, and Ella Brown had 12 points and five rebounds. Linzie Wernert had six points and 11 rebounds.
 
IU Southeast (13-10, 7-6 RSC) returns to action on Saturday for Senior Day against Oakland City.