Game Notes
EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team begins its second cycle of games against its GLVC East Division foes Saturday when it hosts the No. 2 University of Indianapolis Greyhounds at the Physical Activities Center.
USI (17-7, 8-5 GLVC), which also hosts Kentucky Wesleyan College Monday at 5:15 p.m., will be wearing its pink uniforms Saturday and is asking fans to come dressed in pink to help raise breast cancer awareness.
Saturday's game marks the second meeting of the season between the Screaming Eagles and the Greyhounds, who are led by former USI All-American and Hall of Fame member LeAnn Freeland '97.
Indianapolis (23-0, 14-0 GLVC), the region's top team, took the first meeting, 74-64, and is looking to defeat the Eagles for the 10th time in the last 12 tries.
For the Eagles to have a chance Saturday, they will need to start stronger than they did in their previous meeting with the Greyhounds. USI fell behind, 14-2, early in the contest before cutting the deficit to just three points later in the first half, but a 7-2 run to end the half and a 12-5 run to begin the second half essentially gave the Greyhounds everything they needed to come out with the 10-point win.
The Eagles, who faced a similar situation in a 70-51 setback to Drury University Tuesday night, were led by junior guard Lauren Meneghetti in their loss to Indianapolis. Meneghetti scored 15 of her team-high 17 points in the second half to keep the Eagles close.
Indianapolis, which shot 54.2 percent from the field and dished out 20 assists, benefitted from the play of junior forward Samantha Meissel and senior guard Jessica Canary. Meissel finished with 24 points, while Canary added 20 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.
For the season, junior guards Ellen Young and Amie Newhart lead the Eagles with 14.4 points and 12.0 points per game, respectively. Meissel leads the Greyhounds with a league-best 20.2 points per appearance.
Monday's game also marks the second time this season that the Eagles have squared off against the Panthers of Kentucky Wesleyan. USI will be looking for the season-sweep after handing Kentucky Wesleyan a 79-61 setback at the Sportscenter in Owensboro, Kentucky, last month.
Newhart led the Eagles with 19 points and four assists in the previous meeting with the Panthers, while Young drained five three pointers to finish with 18 points and three assists
Kentucky Wesleyan (12-11, 5-9 GLVC), which hosts Indianapolis tonight, got 17 points from senior guard Jennifer Coronelli. Freshman guard Lauren Goffinet, who had 14 points against the Eagles in January, leads the Panthers with 10.0 points per game.
USI trails the all-time series with Indianapolis, 32-24, but leads the all-time series with Kentucky Wesleyan, 41-24.
Following Monday's game with the Panthers, USI makes visits to GLVC East Division foes Northern Kentucky University (February 18) and Bellarmine University (February 20) before ending the regular season by hosting Quincy University February 22.
