EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball returns to the court Saturday at Murray State University for a 2 p.m. contest against the Racers. The game can be seen live on ESPN3 and heard on 95.7FM The Spin (http://957thespin.com).
 
The matchup against Murray State Saturday begins a stretch of five straight road games for Southern Indiana after having four of the first five games of the season in the friendly confines of Screaming Eagles Arena. When the ball goes up Saturday in Murray, Kentucky, it will have been 10 days since the Screaming Eagles' last game. USI (3-2) picked up an 85-52 home win on November 23 against Bethel University (Ind.) The win put USI back on the right track after consecutive losses.
 
Junior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) led USI against Bethel with a career-high 23 points, surpassing her previous career-best of 18 points to hit the 20-point plateau for the first time. Her performance led to Raley being named the Ohio Valley Conference's co-Player of the Week earlier this week. It was the first weekly accolade for the Screaming Eagles this season.
 
Raley dominated the paint, scoring at will and earning trips to the free-throw line. The junior forward had eight makes at the charity stripe against the Pilots. The Haubstadt, Indiana native added eight rebounds with five coming on the offensive glass. Raley also tallied three assists and three steals in 23 minutes played. Raley made her second consecutive start last Wednesday and has now scored in double figures in all five of Southern Indiana's games this season.

On the season, Raley leads USI at 16 points per game, third in the OVC, and is tied for third on the squad with 4.4 rebounds per contest. She has shot over 55 percent from the floor, including a mark of 54 percent from beyond the arc. At the line, Raley has shot over 86 percent on a team-high 19 makes.
 
Sophomore guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) continued her strong start to the season against Bethel. Shafford earned her second consecutive double-double effort against Bethel, scoring 13 points and 10 rebounds after her career-high 21/11 output the Saturday prior against Bowling Green State. The last USI player to have back-to-back double-double games was senior forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio) at the start of the 2020-21 season, recording 12 points and 10 boards0 against Rockhurst University on November 27, 2020, and 10 points and 10 rebounds against William Jewell University on November 29, 2020.
 
 
Haithcock also had a solid game last time out against Bethel Pilots, tallying 15 points in 24 minutes. The senior has scored in double digits in four of USI's games this season, including the last two outings. Haithcock is averaging 15.6 points per game and joins Raley and Shafford with a field goal percentage above 52 percent.
 
Saturday's meeting will be the first between USI and Murray State at the D-I level, as the previous four all-time meetings were when both programs were at Division II. The Racers lead the all-time series 3-1, winning both previous meetings in Murray and splitting the other two in Evansville. The Racers won the first meeting 77-62 in 1980, while the Screaming Eagles won the last series meeting 78-71 in 1986.
 
Murray State, a former OVC member, is in its first season in the Missouri Valley Conference. Murray State is 4-1 through five games in the 2022-23 season with the only loss coming on the road against Big Ten Conference opponent Purdue University. On Wednesday, the Racers defeated the University of Tennessee at Martin 71-52 on the road. The Skyhawks were picked second in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll.
 
In the game against UT Martin, Murray State was led by junior forward Katelyn Young, who recorded a double-double. Young scored 31 points with 12 rebounds and four assists. Young shot 10-15 from the field, including 3-3 from three, and went 8-8 at the free-throw line. The junior forward paces the Racers at 20.0 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game on the season. Redshirt senior guard Macey Turley also averages double figures at 12.2 points per contest. Turley leads the Murray State squad with 20 assists and in three-point shooting at 48 percent (12-25).
 
After Saturday's tilt at Murray State, Southern Indiana's December travels will take the Screaming Eagles to Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana next Wednesday for a midweek matchup against the Butler University Bulldogs at 6 p.m. CT.