Box Score
EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Notre Dame fell behind, 12-0, at the outset of an eventual 96-64 loss to a hot-shooting Southern Indiana squad on Saturday.

The loss for the Falcons (1-5) came in what was day one of the two-day, four-team Thanksgiving Classic hosted by the University of Southern Indiana.  The undefeated Screaming Eagles (4-0) kicked off their own tournament by winning their fourth straight game by a double-digit scoring margin.  For the season, Southern Indiana is now averaging 85.3 points per game, while allowing just 59.8.  The Eagles' 4-0 mark is thus far a significant turnaround -- USI went 9-17 last season.     

For Notre Dame, the loss by 32 marked the program's largest margin of defeat since Feb. 5, 2011.

The Eagles blitzed NDC with a 12-0 run to start the game, and remarkably those 12 points came in the first minute-and-32 seconds of action.  Hitting 10 of its first 12 shots, Southern Indiana ran its lead to 20 (24-4) by the 14:33-mark. The home five hit three early treys and balanced those out with six buckets in the paint over the first 10 minutes of play.

A pair of Erin Entinghe free throws at 9:16 brought Notre Dame within 13 points (33-20).  But SIU re-established their 20-point lead by forcing NDC turnovers and continuing to knock down shots.  The Eagles went into halftime having drained 21-of-30 shots (70 percent) from the field; they forced 11 Falcon turnovers while committing just five of their own.  And on the scoreboard, SIU had a commanding 56-25 lead.  

Nine different Eagle players found the scoring column in the first half, a period that saw NDC yield more points than it had in any half over the last seven seasons.  Meanwhile, Notre Dame's offense struggled with its accuracy -- the Falcons' five starters went a combined 3-of-14 from the field in the first.

Early in the second, Southern Indiana cooled off and Notre Dame guards Courtney Clark and Lauren Macer were effective at both ends of the floor in fueling a solid stretch for the Falcons.  The two teams evenly split up 36 points (18 each) over the first 10 minutes of the third.

Starting at the 11:13-mark, Southern Indiana went on a 15-5 run.  When Ariel Barnes drained a jumper at 4:58, SIU led by 39 (87-48).  The final five minutes were an even exchange, with the endgame played out by reserves on both sides.

For the game, the Screaming Eagles scored a combined 40 points off turnovers (23 points) and on second-chance put-backs (17).  They also out-rebounded the Falcons (39-24) and were a plus-three in turnover margin (NDC 19 turnovers, SIU 16).  Five SIU players scored double-figure point totals, with Stephanie Carpenter and Nicole Hazemi each scoring 15.  For the 40-minute contest, the Eagles shot 58.1 percent (36-of-62) from the floor.

Notre Dame shot 40.4 percent (21-of-52) from the field.  Macer (15 points, four steals) and Clark (13 points, four assists, two blocks) were the Falcons' leading players on the afternoon.

NDC will close out its participation in the Thanksgiving Classic on Sunday against Bellarmine (Ky.).  Bellarmine downed Lake Superior State (Mich.), 76-75, on Saturday.