KOKOMO, Ind. – The IU Southeast women's basketball team held off an IU Kokomo third quarter rally to take down the Cougars 56-44 in a defensive battle on Tuesday.
 
The offenses came out cold as the score was tied 2-2 halfway through the first quarter. IU Southeast used a 7-1 run to take a 9-3 lead. IU Southeast led 11-7 after one quarter.
 
IU Kokomo cut the Grenadier lead to two at 11-9 to open the second quarter, but IU Southeast responded with 14 straight points to take a 25-9 lead. IU Southeast outscored IU Kokomo 19-9 in the second quarter to take a 30-16 lead into halftime.
 
IU Kokomo opened the third quarter with a 13-2 run to cut the Grenadier lead to three at 32-29. The Cougars cut their deficit to one at 34-33 and had the ball with a chance to take the lead, but a steal by Ella Brown turned into a layup by Taylor Treat to give IU Southeast a 36-33 edge.
 
IU Kokomo hit a pair of free throws to make it 36-35, but IU Southeast scored four straight points to extend their lead back to five at 40-35. IU Kokomo hit a layup, but Karly Sweeney connected on a three to give the Grenadiers a 43-37 edge headed into the fourth quarter.
 
The Cougars opened the quarter on a 5-0 run to cut the Grenadier lead back to one at 43-42. IU Kokomo missed a layup that would have given them the lead, and IU Southeast capitalized with another three by Karly Sweeney to give them a 46-42 advantage.
 
IU Kokomo cut the lead to two at 46-44, but Karly Sweeney hit another three to put IU Southeast ahead 49-44. A Linzie Wernert jumper followed by a Jesse Ledgerwood three extended the Grenadier lead to double digits at 54-44 with four minutes left.
 
IU Kokomo was held scoreless for the final 5:36 as IU Southeast secured a 56-44 win.
 
"Great TEAM win tonight," IU Southeast interim head coach Derek Sims said. "We couldn't make shots. We needed a strong defensive showing, and we got that. We had 16 steals, forced 24 turnovers and held them to 28 percent shooting from the field. I always talk about finding ways to impact the game when you're not scoring. I thought everyone did that tonight! Even those that played fewer minutes. Extremely proud overall and looking forward to a much needed day off. Alice Lloyd is always a tough game. We'll be ready for a dog fight!"
 
IU Southeast held IU Kokomo to 13 made field goals and just one made three. 17 of the 44 Cougar points came from the free throw line. IU Southeast had an assist on 15 of their 19 made shots, seven of which came from three. The Grenadiers went 11-13 from the free throw line.
 
Karly Sweeney led IU Southeast with 14 points on 4-5 shooting, all from three, and 2-2 free throws. Jesse Ledgerwood had 13 points and tied for the team lead with three steals. Linzie Wernert had eight points and led the team with 10 rebounds, marking the seventh straight game Wernert has had double-digits rebounds. Wernert also tied for the team lead with three steals.
 
Taylor Treat had six points, a team-high four assists, and four rebounds. Lexi Starr had six points, and Ella Brown added five points. Grace Stapleton had four points, four rebounds, and tied for the team lead with three steals
 
IU Southeast (11-10, 5-6 RSC) returns to action on Saturday for a road contest against Alice Lloyd.