EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team begins the NCAA Division II Midwest Region Tournament Friday at 6:30 p.m. (CDT) when it takes on Ashland University in the first round in Houghton, Michigan.
Friday's bout between the Screaming Eagles and Ashland marks the second meeting of the season between the two schools. USI defeated the Ashland Eagles, 72-64, at the Physical Activities Center in November for its third win of the year.
Senior forward/center
Anna Hackert (Evansville, Indiana) scored 19 points and hauled in 16 rebounds to lead USI, while sophomore guard
Tanner Marcum (New Albany, Indiana) came off the bench to score 17 points and dish out four assists.
Ashland (23-8) was led by senior guard Taylor Woods, who poured in 18 points. Sophomore forward Suzy Wollenhaupt added 14 points and six rebounds.
Both teams are coming off conference championship appearances this past weekend. USI saw an 18-point second-half lead evaporate as then-No. 8 Drury University defeated the Eagles, 68-65, to claim the Great Lakes Valley Conference title Sunday. Ashland, a former GLVC member, lost to then-No. 9 Michigan Tech University, 68-52, in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship Sunday in front of 1,025 fans in Houghton.
USI (25-6), which is essentially ranked No. 26 in the nation as it is receiving votes in the latest WBCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll, enters this weekend's regional as the No. 4 seed in the eight-team tournament, while Ashland is the No. 5 seed. Ashland also is receiving votes in the national rankings.
For the season, Hackert leads the Eagles with 15.5 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, while Marcum is chipping in 11.2 points per contest. Both were named to the GLVC All-Tournament team last weekend.
Woods leads Ashland with 14.4 points and 3.7 assists per contest, while freshman forward/center Laina Snyder is chipping in 14.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per appearance. Freshman forward Andi Daugherty also is averaging 11.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per contest for Ashland, who leads the all-time series with USI, 15-8.
USI's trip to the NCAA II Midwest Region Tournament is its ninth trip to the national tournament and its first since 2010. Ashland is making its sixth appearance in the NCAA II Tournament and its first since winning the 2013 national championship.
In addition to the USI-Ashland game, the Midwest Region quarterfinals consist of the No. 3 seed, Drury, taking on the No. 6 seed, Wayne State University, at 11 a.m. Lewis University, the No. 2 seed, faces the No. 7 seed, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, at 1:30 p.m.; while the top seed and host, Michigan Tech, takes on the No. 8 seed, Cedarville University, at 4 p.m.
The NCAA II Midwest Region field is one of the strongest in the country, with all eight teams having won at least 22 games. Five of the teams have won at least 25 games this year and five of the teams are nationally-ranked.
All of USI's games this weekend can be listened to on WPSR 90.7 FM, while live stats, audio, and video will be available at gousieagles.com.
