EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball tips off its first Ohio Valley Conference season this week, as the Screaming Eagles open conference play Thursday at 5 p.m. from Screaming Eagles Arena against Southeast Missouri State University (ticket information). Southern Indiana will then travel to Eastern Illinois University Saturday for a 1 p.m. contest.
 
Both matchups can be seen live with a subscription to ESPN+ and heard on 95.7 FM The Spin (http://957thespin.com).
 
The Screaming Eagles (6-5) are coming off a 90-48 home win last Wednesday before the holiday break against Brescia University (Ky.) to conclude the non-conference season. The home contest was USI's first since November 23, as USI went 4-1 at home during nonconference.
 
USI had five players score in double figures against Brescia (Ky.). The last time USI had five players reach double figures was January 20, 2022, against the University of Illinois Springfield.
 
Senior forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio) led all scorers with a career-high 24 points and tied her career-best 13 rebounds, leading to an OVC co-Player of the Week honor this week. The accolade was USI's third player of the week honor this season. Haithcock's performance was the eighth double-double of her career while hitting the 20-point plateau for the seventh time in her career and third of the season.
 
Haithcock has been on a roll lately, scoring 14 or more points in four straight games for USI. On the season, Haithcock is tied for the team lead and second in the OVC at 14.5 points per game. She is the leading shot-taker this season for USI. The senior is 67-for-136 from the field at 49.3 percent, which is also good for third in OVC. She has also added 5.1 rebounds per contest. Defensively, Haithcock tops USI with 12 blocks.
 
The game against Brescia (Ky.) also saw graduate forward Ashlynn Brown (Perrysburg, Ohio) tie her career high with 19 points, while senior guard Lexi Thompson (Lafayette, Indiana) set a new career best with 12 points. Senior guard Soffia Rieckers (Evansville, Indiana) dished out a career-best 10 assists in the contest, becoming the first USI player to hand out 10 or more assists in a game since Randa Harshbarger had 10 against the University of Illinois Springfield on December 3, 2016.
 
Joining Haithcock for the team lead in scoring is junior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana), who is also averaging 14.5 points per game. Raley scored 11 points last week against Brescia (Ky.) and has been impressive putting the ball in the basket this season, scoring 10 or more points in all but one game this season. However, her ability to share the basketball has also stood out, totaling 28 assists this season which is tied for second-best on the squad. Raley is averaging nearly three assists per game in the last seven outings.
 
Sophomore guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) also tallied 11 points against Brescia (Ky.) last week. Shafford is averaging 12.9 points per game and paces USI at 7.0 rebounds per game. Offensively, the sophomore has scored in double figures in eight games this season and is shooting over 58 percent from behind the three-point line, which is good for the most efficient three-point percentage in the nation.
 
As a team, USI is first in the Ohio Valley Conference at 71.2 points per contest. Southern Indiana's scoring output has been achieved by shooting 42.9 percent from the floor (second in the OVC), 37.8 percent from behind the arc (first in the OVC), and 77.8 percent at the free-throw line (second in the OVC). Meanwhile, USI's offensive effort has led to 17.4 assists per game (first in the OVC), which sits among the best in the nation. The Screaming Eagles have recorded an assist on over 67 percent of their total made baskets this season.
 
Defensively, Southern Indiana is third in the OVC with 11.2 steals per game, second with 21.9 turnovers forced per game, third in field goal percentage defense at .397, and first in the league at 3.7 blocks per contest. Plus, USI is also cleaning up the glass, leading the OVC at 38.5 rebounds per game overall and 26.4 defensive rebounds per game.

"It's super exciting to start OVC play," Head Coach Rick Stein said. "Everything we've been trying to do has been building toward Ohio Valley Conference play. It's a new season and everybody is 0-0 now. Everybody is fighting for the next two months to try to come back here to Evansville and the Ford Center to have a chance to compete for a championship."
 
Thursday's opponent in Southeast Missouri heads into conference play with a 5-6 mark on the season. Last time out, SEMO edged out the University of Illinois-Chicago 56-55 at home. The Redhawks are led by sophomore forward Kennedi Watkins, who tops the team at 9.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
 
Saturday's opponent in Eastern Illinois begins the conference season with an 8-3 record. The Panthers started 6-0 before going 2-3 in the last five games. EIU fell in its last game to the University of Minnesota before the holidays. The Panthers open OVC play Thursday against Lindenwood University before hosting USI. Eastern Illinois is led by the OVC Preseason Player of the Year in senior guard Lariah Washington, who tops the squad with 19.2 points per game. Sophomore forward Macy McGlone is second on the team at 10.5 points per outing and leads EIU with 7.2 boards per contest.
 
While the OVC season will feature many first-time matchups for USI, Southern Indiana has previous meetings with both Southeast Missouri and Eastern Illinois. SEMO leads the all-time series against USI 11-1, as USI's lone win in the series came in the last meeting during the 1992-93 season on the road in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
 
The series history against Eastern Illinois features only two games all time with the Panthers winning both meetings. Eastern Illinois defended its home court in 1980-81 against USI before capturing a road win at USI in the 1981-82 season.
 
Following this week's opening slate of OVC games for USI, the Screaming Eagles will have another home-road split next week in OVC play. The start of the new year in 2023 will begin with USI traveling to Morehead State University on January 5 for a 4 p.m. CT tilt before coming back home to Screaming Eagles Arena on January 7 for a 5 p.m. contest against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The matchup against SIUE will be the first of three consecutive home games for Southern Indiana.