Game Notes (pdf.)
EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team plays its final regular-season road game Thursday when it visits Bellarmine University for a 4:45 p.m. (CST) tip-off in Louisville, Kentucky. USI also hosts McKendree University Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Physical Activities Center.
With three games remaining on their regular-season slate, the Screaming Eagles are looking for a strong finish to not only help their Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament positioning, but strengthen their NCAA II Tournament resume.
USI (17-6, 9-6 GLVC) is currently fifth in the GLVC East Division, but with only a game separating the Eagles from third-place—which is currently held by the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and the University of Indianapolis—every game is crucial in its quest for a top-four seed and a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
Overall, the Eagles are currently tied with the University of Missouri-St. Louis, but only two games separate the two teams from the top spots in their respective divisions.
The Eagles are coming off a 1-1 week that saw them fall at the University of Indianapolis, 70-66, and defeat Saint Joseph's College, 73-62. Sophomore forward/center
Anna Hackert paced the Eagles with 20.0 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, while classmate
Mary O'Keefe added 13.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest.
For the season, Hackert leads the Eagles with 15.0 points and 9.7 rebounds per appearance, while O'Keefe is chipping in 10.0 points per contest. Junior guard
Stephanie Carpenter is second on the team with 10.5 points per outing, while junior guard
Ariel Barnes is averaging a team-high 3.5 assists per game.
USI is looking for the season sweep against Bellarmine and McKendree. The Eagles held the Knights to just four field goals in the final 15 minutes to run away with a 67-58 victory at the PAC in January; while a 22-6 second-half run propelled the Eagles to a 73-63 win at McKendree earlier this month.
Hackert had 20 points and nine rebounds to lead the Eagles in their win over Bellarmine, while the Knights got 17 points from senior guard Kylie Brady.
Bellarmine (17-9, 7-8 GLVC) suffered a pair of losses last week and has lost five of its last six games heading into Thursday's contest. Senior guard Betsy Goodin leads the Knights with 10.7 points per game, while sophomore forward Darion Hutchinson is second on the team with 10.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest.
In USI's win over McKendree, Carpenter poured in a game-high 19 points as USI rallied from 13 back to defeat the Bearcats. Sophomore guard Caty Ponce had 15 points to lead McKendree.
McKendree (7-16, 2-13 GLVC), which hosts Kentucky Wesleyan College Thursday, also dropped both of its contests last week and have lost 13 of its last 15 games. Ponce is averaging 16.6 points per game to lead the Bearcats.
Both games this week can be heard on WPSR 90.7 FM, while live stats, audio, and video can be accessed at gousieagles.com.
The Eagles conclude their regular-season slate February 28 when they host Kentucky Wesleyan at the PAC.
