EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball concludes its home-heavy November schedule Wednesday before Thanksgiving for a 1 p.m., midday game against Bethel University (Ind.) (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 (2-2) are wrapping up a stretch where four of their five November games have been at home. Following the game Wednesday against Bethel, USI will hit the road for five straight before their next home matchup on December 21 against Brescia University (Ky.).
 
Southern Indiana is coming off a tough schedule last week against two Mid-American Conference schools in Northern Illinois University and Bowling Green State University. Most recently, the Screaming Eagles lost 100-74 on Saturday against Bowling Green State. In the game, the Falcons shot just under 50 percent overall and from beyond the arc. BGSU struck for 14 made threes in the game, getting hot from the second quarter on. The last USI opponent to make 14 threes in a game was Rockhurst University in a 96-86 overtime loss to the Screaming Eagles on February 6, 2021.
 
On the bright side for USI in that contest, sophomore guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) put together a standout, career performance for USI. Shafford scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, both career highs. The effort was Shafford's first career double-double. It was the first 20-10 game for a USI player since Imani Guy had 24 points and 12 rebounds in a 74-47 home win over the University of Illinois Springfield on February 16, 2019. Shafford was also a perfect 5-5 from distance Saturday, tying a USI single-game record for the best three-point percentage in a minimum of five attempts. The previous mark was set by Taylor Stephenson, who also went 5-5 against Georgia Southwestern on November 10, 2012. Shafford's double-double was the first of the season for USI, and the guard has now led or tied for a team-high in rebounds in three games this season.
 
Not to get overlooked was also the output Saturday by senior forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio), who also scored 21 points against the Falcons. In coming off the bench, Haithcock was one point shy of her career best, which she tied earlier this season with 22 points against Western Illinois University. Haithcock sits at 886 career points, needing 14 for 900, and she has 392 career rebounds, needing eight for 400.
 
Between Haithcock's effort off the bench Saturday and junior forward Meredith Raley's (Haubstadt, Indiana) bench contributions in the first three games of the season, Southern Indiana has received considerable production from the non-starters. Before starting on Saturday, Raley tallied 47 points in the first three games and was responsible for over half of the team's bench scoring at the time. She was the team's scoring leader after three games and has scored in double figures in all four games. Raley has 490 career points, needing 10 more for 500.
 
Southern Indiana had 37 bench points Saturday, its second-best of the season after scoring 39 against Western Illinois. On Saturday, senior forward Tara Robbe (Wildwood, Missouri) scored all seven of her points in the third quarter, while sophomore guard Takiya Howard (Chicago, Illinois) had a solid stretch scoring her five points inside a five-minute span in the fourth quarter. The Screaming Eagles have totaled 123 bench points, averaging 30.8 per game. Southern Indiana's bench has accounted for nearly 41 percent of the team's total scoring average.
 
On the season, Haithcock leads USI at 15.8 points per game. Right behind her is Shafford at 15 points per contest and Raley at 14.3 a game. Shafford leads the squad with 7.8 rebounds per game, one more than graduate forward Ashlynn Brown (Perrysburg, Ohio). Brown played in her 100^th game in a USI uniform on Saturday against Bowling Green State.
 
Collectively, USI has one of the top offenses in the Ohio Valley Conference through four games. USI's 75.5 points per game rank first along with a field goal percentage of 45.3 percent and 18.8 assists per outing. The Screaming Eagles are second in the OVC in three-point efficiency at 38.4 percent and third with their average of seven three-point makes a game. In terms of having a nose for the ball, USI is also first in the OVC with 39.2 rebounds per contest and 12.5 steals per game after four games played.
 
Bethel University (Ind.) is 4-5 in the 2022-23 season leading into the start of the week and its Tuesday matchup against Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio), which precedes the game against Southern Indiana on Wednesday. From November 11-19, the Pilots had lost four straight games, including a 72-50 loss to Oakland City University, whom the Screaming Eagles opened the 2022-23 season against with an 87-39 win. The recent skid follows four wins in the first five games for the Pilots.
 
Bethel is led in scoring by sophomore guard Maiah Shelton at nearly 11 points per game. Shelton scored 12 points in the Pilots' game this past Saturday against St. Francis (Ind.). Right behind Shelton is freshman guard Ellia Foster at just over nine points per contest. She also scored in double figures against St. Francis (Ind.). The Pilots went 10-20 a season ago and are a member of the NAIA's Crossroads League.
 
After Wednesday's game against Bethel, the Screaming Eagles will go 10 days before their next game. USI will next play on December 3 at Murray State University at 2 p.m. to begin a five-game road swing.