Game Notes (pdf.)
EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team begins the 2012 USI Thanksgiving Classic Saturday at 2:30 p.m. when it hosts Notre Dame College (Ohio) at the Physical Activities Center. USI also hosts Lake Superior State University Sunday at 2:30 p.m. as part of the two-day, four-game classic.
USI is off to a 3-0 start for the second straight season and the 10th time in the program's history after dropping Kentucky State University, 94-58, in its home-opener last Saturday at the PAC.
Sophomore forward/center
Mary O'Keefe poured in a team-high 17 points, while sophomore guard
Taylor Stevenson added 16.
Stevenson, the team's leader with 14.0 points per game, is shooting 80.0 percent from the field (12-15) and has connected on all six of her shots from three-point range in the last two contests. O'Keefe also has been strong in the last two outings, averaging 17.5 points during that span and 12.3 point per game for the season.
Notre Dame (1-3), which hosts The University of Findlay Wednesday evening, is coming off a 70-50 victory over Ohio Valley University. Senior guard Lauren Macer, the team-leader with 17.0 points per outing, led the Falcons with 25 points and five assists.
This weekend's games mark the first-ever meeting between USI and Notre Dame and the third showdown between the Eagles and the Lakers of Lake Superior State. USI and Lake Superior State each have a win in the series.
Lake Superior State (1-1), which opens the USI Thanksgiving Classic Saturday at noon by taking on Bellarmine University, is coming off a tough 79-48 setback to nationally-ranked University of Indianapolis two weeks ago.
Senior forward Maria Blazejewski leads the Lakers with 15.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per contest, while junior guard Raven Trammell, who had a team-best 18 points against Indianapolis, is contributing 15.0 points per appearance.
Bellarmine, which is under the direction of former USI Head Coach and USI Hall of Fame member Chancellor Dugan, is 1-1 to begin the season after defeating Kentucky State, 73-46, and falling to Cedarville University, 67-56, two weeks ago.
Dugan, who will make her first appearance on the sidelines at the PAC since leading USI to a 90-79 victory over the University of Missouri-St. Louis February 13, 1999, amassed a 159-73 record in her nine seasons (1991-99) at the helm of USI.
She led the Eagles to the 1997 NCAA II National Championship game and left USI as the program's all-time winningest coach. The Eagles recorded an 88-26 record at the PAC during Dugan's tenure at USI, including a 68-10 mark in her last five seasons.
USI Head Coach
Rick Stein, the Eagles' all-time winningest coach with 216 victories, was an assistant under Dugan throughout her stay at USI.
Both of USI's contests this weekend can be listened to on WPSR 90.7 FM, while live stats and audio can be accessed at gousieagles.com.
