EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball gets the 2023-24 season rolling Monday against Wright State University at 7 p.m. from Screaming Eagles Arena.
 
The season-opening contest can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+ and heard on 95.7FM The Spin.
 
USI enters the 2023-24 season after going 12-17 overall and 6-12 in Ohio Valley Conference play last season. The 2022-23 season was USI's inaugural season in NCAA Division I and as an OVC member. The Screaming Eagles missed out on postseason play in the OVC Tournament, but USI ended last season with a 67-61 road win at Tennessee State University.
 
The Eagles were projected sixth in the 2023-24 Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Poll.
 
The 2023-24 USI Women's Basketball squad features eight returning players, including three starters, and six newcomers. USI Head Coach Rick Stein begins his 25^th season at the helm with a 423-254 record.
 
The top returning scorer is senior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana), who averaged 13.3 points per game last season. Junior guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) is also back after posting 13.0 points per contest and leading the team with 7.1 rebounds per game. She was also fourth-best in the nation with a 46.8 three-point percentage. Shafford and Raley were 2023-24 Preseason All-OVC selections.
 
Additionally, Southern Indiana has senior guard Lexie Green (Indianapolis, Indiana) and fifth-year senior guards Tori Handley (Jeffersonville, Indiana) and Addy Blackwell (Bloomington, Indiana) back in 2023-24.
 
Two of USI's newcomers are transfers. Senior forward Madi Webb (Bedford, Indiana) comes to USI after three seasons at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Webb made 16 starts in 30 appearances last year as a junior for SIUE, leading the Cougars with a .488 shooting percentage, and set season-high marks in total points and rebounds. Sophomore guard Ali Saunders (Depauw, Indiana) joins USI after her freshman campaign at Valparaiso University, where she was second on the team in scoring with 10.7 points per game, shooting over 47 percent from the floor and 43 percent from three. Saunders also dished out a team-best 81 assists in nine starts and 30 appearances. At the end of the 2022-23 season, Saunders was named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman Team after leading all MVC freshmen in scoring and assists, both overall and in conference play.
 
Wright State was 8-24 overall and 6-14 in Horizon League play last season. After a 2-19 start, the Raiders went 6-5 in their last 11 games. The Raiders made it to the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Tournament before falling to No. 1-seeded University of Wisconsin Green Bay.
 
As a team, the Raiders were one of the best three-point shooting teams in the nation last season, ranking second with 10.1 three-pointers made per game and 22^nd with a .364 three-point percentage. Wright State set a school record with 323 triples in 2022-23.
 
Raiders junior guard Kacee Baumhower is the top returning scorer for Wright State this season. Baumhower was third on the team in scoring last year with 9.4 points per outing, shooting nearly 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from beyond the arc. She also had 75 assists and 25 steals.
 
Baumhower is joined by graduate forward Cara VanKempen, who averaged 6.2 points and 3.2 boards per game last season. Horizon League All-Freshman Team honoree Makiya Miller is also back after tallying 5.9 points and 1.5 assists per contest.
 
Monday's game will be the return game from USI's 76-66 road win at Wright State last December. In that matchup, Shafford and Raley each poured in 20 points for the Screaming Eagles while USI shot over 47 percent from the floor. USI leads the all-time series 3-2, which dates back to the 1983-84 season.
 
Since 1975-76, USI has been 28-20 in season-opening games, and since 1980-81, USI is 30-13 in home openers. Last year, USI won its season opener at home, 87-39, against Oakland City University to begin the D-I era.
 
The contest against Wright State tips off a three-game homestand for USI to open the 2023-24 season. The Screaming Eagles will also be home on November 12 at 1 p.m. against Oakland City University and November 16 at 7 p.m. against Northern Illinois University.