EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball seeks to get back on track this week when the Screaming Eagles travel to the suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri to take on Lindenwood University Thursday and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Saturday. Thursday's contest against Lindenwood in St. Charles, Missouri will tip at 5:30 p.m., and Saturday's matchup against SIUE from Edwardsville, Illinois will start at 1 p.m.
 
Both games can be seen live with a subscription to ESPN+ and heard on 95.7 FM The Spin (http://957thespin.com).
 
USI Women's Basketball enters the week with an 8-9 overall record and a 2-4 mark in conference play. The Screaming Eagles are tied for sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference standings entering this week's matchups.
 
Thursday's meeting against Lindenwood is the first of two meetings between the two schools in Ohio Valley Conference play. Both programs are familiar with each other from previous seasons and matchups as members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference at the NCAA Division II level. USI has won all four meetings against the Lions after Lindenwood joined the GLVC in 2019-20.
 
USI will face off against SIUE Saturday for the second time in two weeks. Southern Indiana won 79-59 against SIUE on January 7 at Screaming Eagles Arena. USI matched a season high in that contest with 53 rebounds, including 19 offensive boards, and the Screaming Eagles had 21 assists compared to five for SIUE. Individually, Southern Indiana was led by a pair of double-doubles, as sophomore guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) posted 18 points and 12 rebounds and senior forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio) tallied 14 points and 10 rebounds. The win gave USI a 27-24 lead in the all-time series against SIUE.
 
Last week, USI came out on the wrong end of two, one-possession losses at home. USI lost 47-44 last Thursday against the University of Arkansas Little Rock and 63-60 last Saturday against the University of Tennessee at Martin. Both opponents came from behind in the fourth quarter to snag road wins. Shafford led USI in both contests, scoring 10 points against Little Rock and 14 points against UT Martin.
 
Haithcock paces the Screaming Eagles on the season at 14.3 points per game. Second in scoring is junior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) with 13.4 points per contest, while Shafford is third with 13.2 points per outing and leads the team at 7.1 rebounds per game. All three players rank in the OVC's top eight in scoring. Haithcock's 14.3 points average is third in the conference. Shafford's 7.1 rebounds per game are good for third in the OVC, sitting just half a rebound behind the leader. Shafford is at the top of the conference and the nation in three-point shooting, knocking down long-range shots at 56.7 percent. As a team, USI ranks first in the OVC in assists, blocks, rebounding, and in three-point percentage.
 
Taking a deeper look at this week's opponents, Lindenwood is 1-16 overall and 0-6 in conference play, while SIUE is 4-13 this season with a 3-3 record in the OVC. SIUE has won three of its last five games. The two schools just faced each other on Saturday, as the Cougars defeated the Lions 74-63. SIUE had a solid start in the game, outscoring Lindenwood 17-6 in the first period. The Cougars outshot the Lions 51.9 percent to 42.6 percent, despite the teams combining to go 0-31 from three. SIUE was led by senior forward Ajulu Thatha, who posted a double-double of 22 points and 13 rebounds. Lindenwood was led in the game by graduate guard Devin Fuhring with 15 points.
 
This season, Lindenwood is led in scoring by sophomore guard Mary McGrath with 11.7 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game. Thatha leads SIUE at 12.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest. Thatha was named the OVC Player of the Week on Tuesday after recording double-doubles in both games last week for the Cougars.
 
Following this week's road trip to Lindenwood and SIUE, Southern Indiana will return home to Screaming Eagles Arena next Thursday for the Screaming Eagles' second go-around against Eastern Illinois University at 5 p.m.