Game Notes
EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team is looking for a strong finish to what has turned out to be a six-game road trip when it visits the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Thursday and Lewis University Saturday.
Tip-off for Thursday's game in Kenosha, Wisconsin, is slated for 5:30 p.m., while Saturday's game in Romeoville, Illinois, begins at 1 p.m. Game coverage, including audio, video, and live stats, can be found at www.gousieagles.com.
USI (15-4, 6-2 GLVC) is coming off a tough 74-64 setback at No. 3 University of Indianapolis last Thursday. Sluggish starts to both the first and second periods hampered the Screaming Eagles, who fell two games behind the Greyhounds in the loss column of the GLVC East Division standings.
Junior guard Lauren Meneghetti led the Eagles with 17 points in the loss, 15 coming in the final 20 minutes.
For the season, fellow classmates Ellen Young and Amie Newhart lead the Eagles in the scoring column. Young, who needs just 13 points to reach 1,000 in her collegiate career, is eighth in the GLVC with 14.4 points per appearance. She currently ranks 31st all-time at USI with 629 points after scoring 358 points as a freshman at SIU Carbondale.
Newhart, who ranks 17th all-time at USI with 821 career points and eighth all-time with 223 career assists, is currently 17th in the GLVC with 12.5 points per contest. Newhart ranks third in the GLVC and 16th in the nation with a team-best 2.15 assist-to-turnover ratio.
USI leads the all-time series with UW-Parkside, 19-5, though the Rangers have won the last two meetings including a 75-67 decision last year in Kenosha.
UW-Parkside (17-3, 9-2 GLVC), which leads the GLVC North Division by two-and-a-half games, has won three straight and six of its last seven contests. The Rangers, who are a perfect 10-0 at home this season, are riding a 14-game home winning streak into Thursday night's duel with the Eagles.
The Rangers, who are receiving votes in the latest USA Today/ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll, have four players averaging in double figures this season, led by sophomore guard/forward Brittany Beyer's 16.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per appearance. Junior center Brittany Hogen, the reigning GLVC Player of the Week, is chipping in 14.3 points and a team-best 8.7 rebounds per game.
As the GLVC standings unfold throughout the season, Saturday's game against Lewis could have huge GLVC Tournament implications in terms of the battle for the top wild card spot and a first-round bye in the conference's post-season. USI is two-games ahead of the Flyers in the loss column for the top wildcard spot and could gain a decisive tie-breaker with a victory Saturday.
Lewis (10-9, 6-4 GLVC), which hosts Kentucky Wesleyan College Thursday evening, has won four straight against the Eagles in Romeoville including last year's 69-61 victory that evened the all-time series at 26-26.
Junior forward Jenny Turpel leads the Flyers with 16.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest. She scored a game-high 22 points in the Flyers' 75-72 setback at Drury last Saturday.
