Game Notes (pdf.)
EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team is looking to finish the 2011-12 season on a winning note when it travels to Owensboro, Kentucky, Thursday at 5:15 p.m. to take on Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division rival Kentucky Wesleyan College at the Sportscenter.
USI (8-16, 2-15 GLVC) saw its GLVC Tournament hopes disappear with a 75-68 setback to Bellarmine University last Thursday at the Physical Activities Center. The Screaming Eagles ended the week this past Saturday with 57-42 loss to Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, Kentucky.
Sophomore guard
Stephanie Carpenter led the Eagles in both games as she scored 20 against Bellarmine and 10 against Northern Kentucky.
Carpenter, one of four sophomores and 11 underclassmen on the Eagles' 14-player roster, leads the Eagles with 10.6 points per game after averaging more than 15 points per outing in USI's last five games.
A win Thursday would boost the confidence of the Eagles, who have the highest percentage of freshmen and sophomores (.786) on any roster in the GLVC, as they head into the offseason.
USI, which loses two seniors—guard
Cootie Leeberg and guard/forward
Kristin Raker—to graduation, has been led by its underclassmen throughout the season. Freshman forward/center
Anna Hackert is second on the team with 10.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, while freshman forward
Brooke Valentine is tied for 10th in the GLVC with a team-high 6.5 rebounds per appearance.
A win Thursday also could derail Kentucky Wesleyan's hopes of hosting a first-round contest in the GLVC Tournament and would snap a two-game skid against the Panthers. Despite losing the last two meetings with the Panthers, the most recent being an 81-66 decision at the PAC last month, USI maintains a 43-26 cushion in the all-time series and a 16-5 advantage since 2000.
Kentucky Wesleyan (14-11, 8-9 GLVC), which is currently in the driver's seat for the eighth seed in the GLVC Tournament, is coming off a thrilling 115-113 overtime victory over Bellarmine this past Saturday in Louisville, Kentucky.
Senior center Katie Behrens, who scored a game-high 21 points against the Eagles last month, led the Panthers with 30 points in the win over Bellarmine. Behrens currently leads the team with 10.8 points per game.
Thursday's game can be heard on WPSR 90.7 FM, while live audio and stats can be accessed at gousieagles.com.
