EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team is looking to add to its three-game winning streak when it takes on No. 15 Hillsdale College Friday at 6:30 p.m. (CST) in the Indianapolis Classic in Indianapolis, Indiana.
USI (3-1), which takes on Grace College Saturday at 4 p.m., is getting its first look at a USA Today/ESPN Division II Top 25 opponent Friday. The Screaming Eagles have lost their last 12 to nationally-ranked opponents after knocking off No. 10 Quincy University January 22, 2004.
The Eagles, however, are 2-0 all-time against Hillsdale after a 77-72 win November 17, 2003. USI also defeated the Chargers 84-63 in the semifinals of the 2002 NCAA II Great Lakes Region Tournament.
Led by sophomore guard
Ellen Young (Salem, Illinois), the Eagles are sporting five players that are averaging at least 10.0 points per game. Young has paced the Eagles in their first four games with 15.8 points per contest, while sophomore guard
Lauren Meneghetti and senior forward/center
Brittany Neuman (Huntingburg, Indiana) are averaging 14.3 and 11.8 points per contest, respectively.
Neuman, the reigning GLVC Player of the Week, leads the conference with 10.8 rebounds per game.
Rounding out USI's double-digit scorers is sophomore guard
Amie Newhart (Mulberry, Indiana) and freshman guard
Rinesha Soaper (Henderson, Kentucky), each of whom are chipping in 10.0 points per appearance.
Hillsdale (2-0) has not played since November 16 when it posted an 82-63 victory over Missouri University of Science & Technology. Senior forward Katie Cezat, the reigning Great Lakes Region Player of the Year, leads the Chargers with 27.0 points and 13.5 rebounds per game.
USI's meeting with Grace Saturday will be the second-ever meeting on the hardwood between the Eagles and the Lancers. USI defeated Grace 87-62 December 15, 2001.
Grace (4-4) has lost two straight games after suffering a 62-51 setback to open its conference season Tuesday night at Bethel College. The Lancers are led by sophomore guard Kiera Gray and freshman forward Kayla Skaggs. Gray leads the team with 14.8 points per contest, while Skaggs is averaging 10.5 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game.
Following this weekend's action, the Eagles open GLVC play when they head north to take on Lewis University (December 4) and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside (December 6).
