EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball returns to Screaming Eagles Arena Saturday afternoon for a 1 p.m. matchup against Bowling Green State University. (ticket information). The contest can be seen live with a subscription to ESPN+.
 
The game can also be heard on 95.7FM The Spin (http://957thespin.com).
 
The Screaming Eagles (2-1) host their third of four home games in the month of November on Saturday, as USI won its first two home contests 87-39 against Oakland City University and 88-75 against Western Illinois University. Southern Indiana finishes out the November home slate next Wednesday afternoon against Bethel University (Ind.).
 
Last time out, the Screaming Eagles traveled to Northern Illinois University on Tuesday for their first road game of the 2022-23 season and only away game in November. The Huskies came away with a 61-53 win against USI at the Convocation Center in DeKalb, Illinois. The first half was a close battle, as NIU took a 27-25 lead into halftime. The Huskies increased their margin in the third quarter before the Screaming Eagles stormed back in the fourth to pressure the Huskies. USI organized a 12-0 run and trimmed NIU's lead down to five twice in the final period.
 
Southern Indiana had three players finish in double digits against Northern Illinois. Junior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) led USI with 15 points off the bench followed by sophomore guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) with 11 points. Graduate forward Ashlynn Brown posted 10 points, scoring eight of the ten as part of USI's fourth-quarter scoring run against NIU.
 
Between Northern Illinois on Tuesday and Saturday's opponent in Bowling Green State, USI will have faced two Mid-American Conference schools in one week's time. Both schools were projected inside the top-five of the 2022-23 MAC preseason poll. Additionally, both BGSU and NIU received votes in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 rankings. Bowling Green State would be #26 in the mid-major poll with 96 votes while Northern Illinois would be #27 in the poll with 52 votes. Another MAC school, Eastern Michigan University, will host USI in mid-December.
 
The Screaming Eagles are led in scoring by Raley through three games, as the junior forward is averaging 15.7 points per contest. Her average is nearly 21 percent of the team's total scoring output. Raley has been a catalyst for USI considering she has done all her scoring and work off the bench. USI has totaled 88 bench points as a team, averaging 29.3 per game. Raley has accounted for over 53 percent of the bench scoring, tallying 47 points scored so far.
 
Defensively, Southern Indiana has really pestered its opponents. USI has recorded 45 steals through three games at an average of 15 per game. The 15 steals per game is good for first in the Ohio Valley Conference while the 45 total takeaways are second in the OVC. Shafford leads the team with 10 steals already this season, including four on Tuesday at Northern Illinois. Right behind her are senior guards Tori Handley (Jeffersonville, Indiana) and Soffia Rieckers (Evansville, Indiana) with eight each.
 
Bowling Green State is 2-1 in the 2022-23 season, coming off a 96-61 loss on the road at #9/12 Indiana University Thursday evening. The Falcons' two wins have come against St. Bonaventure University and Wright State University to start the season. Against IU on Thursday, senior guard Elissa Brett led the team with 14 points on 5-15 shooting. She also had five boards. Senior forward Kadie Hempfling also scored double digits with 11 points off the bench, going 4-4 overall and 3-3 from beyond the arc. Bowling Green shot 35.5 percent (24-68) overall and 27.3 percent (6-22) from distance. The Falcons were outrebounded 47-28 but forced the Hoosiers into 18 turnovers.
 
Brett leads the BGSU squad this season at 16.7 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per outing. Junior guard Nyla Hampton and senior forward Allison Day are also averaging double figures at 12.7 and 11.0 points per game, respectively. Hampton's 12 takeaways also top the team. The Falcons were 17-16 a season ago and were projected third in the 2022-23 Mid-American Conference preseason poll.
 
Following Saturday's game, the Screaming Eagles will conclude their November home schedule next Wednesday before Thanksgiving for a 1 p.m., midday game against the Bethel University Pilots.