EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball travels north into Michigan Saturday when the Screaming Eagles square off against Eastern Michigan University at 12 p.m. CT. The matchup will be the third game of a season-long five-game road stretch for USI.
 
The game can be seen live on ESPN3 and heard on 95.7FM The Spin (http://957thespin.com).
 
For the third time already in the 2022-23 non-conference season, the Screaming Eagles are facing an opponent from the Mid-American Conference. Preceding the matchup against Eastern Michigan, USI previously played against Bowling Green State University and Northern Illinois University from the MAC. Northern Illinois won 61-53 on November 15, and Bowling Green won 100-74 on November 19 against USI. In recent weeks, both Northern Illinois and Bowling Green have moved up in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 poll. Saturday will be the first all-time meeting between Eastern Michigan and Southern Indiana.
 
Most recently, USI's strong non-conference schedule included a contest at Butler University earlier in the week on Wednesday. Butler, out of the Big East Conference, came away with a 58-48 win against the Screaming Eagles, but it was a tight, gritty game for the entire 40 minutes. The largest lead in the game was 10 points by the Bulldogs with less than a minute remaining in the second quarter, which was quickly cut down to three before the intermission after a 7-0 run by USI. The game featured seven lead changes and was tied three times. The defensive battle at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse came down to the final minutes, where USI made it a four-point game with less than two minutes left. Butler made late free throws to close out the game.
 
The USI defense had a solid performance against the Bulldogs, who scored 11 points below their season average. The Screaming Eagles had 12 steals and forced 24 Butler turnovers. Sophomore guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) and senior guard Tori Handley (Jeffersonville, Indiana), who are first and second on the team this season in steals, had four and three steals, respectively. Additionally, USI's defense also drew eight offensive fouls by the Bulldogs. Going into Wednesday's game, Butler was shooting 47 percent from the floor this season, but USI held Butler to 39 percent on Wednesday night.
 
Individually, junior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) led USI with 11 points on the scoresheet. Raley extended her streak of scoring in double figures in every game this season for USI. The seven-game, double-digit scoring streak is the longest of Raley's career. Raley's best double-digit game this season was against Bethel University (Ind.) on November 23, scoring a career-best 23 points. On the season, Raley leads the team at 15.1 points per game and is also tied for a team-best 20 assists.
 
Shafford also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds against Butler. The 5'9" guard paces the Screaming Eagles this season at 8.1 boards per game. In her freshman season, Shafford averaged 3.5 rebounds a contest. Shafford already has three games this season with 10 or more rebounds. Against Bowling Green in November, Shafford had a career-high 11 rebounds to go along with a career-high 21 points, her first career double-double. The Linton, Indiana native followed that performance with 13 points and 10 rebounds against Bethel. Shafford is averaging 12.4 points per game this season, and she leads the squad with 19 steals and is second with 19 assists.
 
USI is averaging 70.6 points per game this season, which is second in the Ohio Valley Conference. Southern Indiana's scoring output has been achieved by shooting 43.5 percent from the floor (second in the OVC), 39.6 percent from behind the arc (first in the OVC), and 76.8 percent at the free-throw line (second in the OVC). USI's offensive effort has led to an OVC-best 17.7 assists per game. The Screaming Eagles have recorded an assist on over 68 percent of their total made baskets this season.
 
Eastern Michigan is off to a solid 5-1 start in 2022-23 after a 7-20 record last season. The Eagles started their season with two wins against Ohio Valley Conference teams, beating Lindenwood University 71-56 and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 71-62. Eastern Michigan is coming off its first loss of the season on Sunday, falling 79-73 against the University of North Dakota. The Eagles were outshot by North Dakota and were -10 in rebounding for the game. Senior guard Natalia Pineda led Eastern Michigan with 19 points, burying five three-pointers in the game. Sophomore guard ZaNiya Nelson recorded 16 points and nine rebounds.
 
On the season, sophomore guard Lachelle Austin tops the squad at 13.6 points per game with Nelson right behind her at 13.2 points per contest. The Eagles present a balanced attack, as five players average 10 or more points per outing, and they had four players tally double digits against North Dakota. Eastern Michigan is shooting 44 percent overall this season.
 
After Saturday's game at Eastern Michigan, USI will step away from game action next week for finals and conclude the fall semester. The Screaming Eagles will then resume their road swing next weekend on back-to-back days against Wright State University next Saturday and the University of Cincinnati on Sunday.