EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team hosts Central State University Saturday at 5:15 p.m. in a NCAA II Great Lakes Region contest at the Physical Activities Center. Saturday's contest will be the Screaming Eagles' last in the United States prior to the Christmas break.
Following the USI-Central State contest, the Eagles (3-2) travel to Nassau, Bahamas, December 19-20 to take on Tiffin University and Mt. Olive College (North Carolina). The USI-Tiffin game, slated for December 19, also is a Great Lakes Region contest for the Eagles. Both games are slated to begin at 5 p.m. (CST) and can be heard on WSPR FM 90.7 as well as the internet at www.820theedge.com.
When the Eagles host Central State Saturday in the first contest of a men's and women's doubleheader, they will be looking to stop a two-game slide after dropping decisions to Kentucky Wesleyan College and Tusculum College.
Senior forward
Jasmine Baines (Jeffersonville, Indiana) led USI with 20 points in its 74-69 loss to Tusculum on Sunday. Baines, who ranks 13th all-time at USI with 857 points, needs just nine points to reach 1,000 in her collegiate career—she scored 134 points as a freshman at Indiana University/Purdue University-Indianapolis.
Baines leads the Eagles and is second in the conference with 21.4 points per game. Sophomore guard
VaNita Smart (Evansville, Indiana) has averaged 14.0 points in USI's last two games and is third on the team with 10.2 points per contest, while junior guard
Brittany Darden (Guthrie, Kentucky) is second on the team and 19th in the conference with 11.4 points per outing.
USI has gotten great efforts on the glass from junior forward/centers
Brittany Neuman (Huntingburg, Indiana) and
Ninette Evans (Memphis, Tennessee). Neuman is coming off her first-career double-double after recording a career-high 13 points and 12 rebounds. She leads USI and is fifth in the GLVC with 7.4 rebounds per game.
Evans also is coming off a strong rebounding performance after grabbing seven rebounds against Tusculum. She is averaging 5.2 rebounds per game and nearly six per game in USI's last four.
Central State (5-4) has won two straight games after a three-game slide dropped its record below .500 for the first time this season. The Lady Marauders are led by junior guard/forward Linda Ubadigbo and sophomore guard/forward Ijeoma Ofomata. The two are averaging 12.6 points and 11.4 points per game, respectively.
Following their trip to the Bahamas, the Eagles return home to host the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's and Great Lakes Region foe Saginaw Valley State University December 28 at the PAC.
