QUINCY, Ill.—The University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team has made its final preparations for its NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region Tournament first round game. The seventh-seeded Screaming Eagles will square off against the second seed, #15 Lake Superior State University. Friday's tip-off is slated for 2:30 p.m. at the Pepsi Arena in Quincy, Illinois.

USI (20-9) will be looking for its third trip to the NCAA II Elite Eight and its first trip since 2001. The Eagles are making their seventh appearance in the NCAA II Tournament and their first since 2002.

Leading the Eagles into battle Friday afternoon is junior guard Jamie Truitt (Owensboro, Kentucky) and senior forwards Shannon Wells (Merrillville, Indiana) and Shajuan Lindsey (Midlothian, Illinois).

Truitt, a second-team All-GLVC selection, leads the team with 16.4 points per game. Wells is averaging 12.1 points per contest, while Lindsey is averaging 11.7 points and a team-high 5.1 rebounds per outing. Lindsey is coming off a GLVC Tournament effort that saw her average 18.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game en route to earning All-Tournament honors.

LSSU (26-3), the GLIAC's regular season and tournament champion, is led by junior guard Randi Johnson and senior forward/center Allyson Conaway. Johnson, the GLIAC Tournament MVP, leads the team with 15.6 points and 2.7 assists per game, while Conaway is averaging 14.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

The Lakers, who are in the midst of their most successful season in school history, are making their third straight NCAA II Tournament appearance and their seventh overall.

If the Eagles, who are 8-6 all-time in the NCAA II Tournament and 1-0 in their only meeting with the Lakers, are successful on Friday, they will play the winner of the three-six game, which features third-seeded Ferris State University (21-9) and sixth-seeded Ashland University (22-7). The semifinals are slated for 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 13.

Head Coach Rick Stein also will be looking for a milestone this weekend. Stein, who is leading the Eagles into the NCAA post season for the third time, needs just two victories to become the third coach in school history to reach 100 career wins. Stein, who is 3-2 in the NCAA II Tournament, is 98-50 in his five-year career at the helm of the Eagles.

USI's games this weekend can be heard on WSWI AM 820 or via the Internet at www.usi.edu/wswi.