EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball heads back on the road this week for a pair of Ohio Valley Conference contests at the University of Arkansas Little Rock on Thursday at 5 p.m. and Southeast Missouri State University on Saturday at 2 p.m.
 
The Screaming Eagles (11-14, 5-9) enter the week in a tie for seventh in the Ohio Valley Conference standings. USI is coming off a split week, falling 79-59 at Tennessee Tech University last Thursday before rolling to a 66-43 home win against Lindenwood University last Saturday.
 
In the win against Lindenwood, USI set an early tone defensively, taking the Lions out of their comfort zone. Plus, USI dominated the interior in scoring and on the glass. Southern Indiana outrebounded Lindenwood 43-28, including 15-5 on the offensive glass, leading to 26 second-chance points. USI also outscored Lindenwood 19-9 off turnovers and 40-22 in the paint. USI had strong second and third quarters to pull away from Lindenwood, leading to the win in USI's Play4Kay and Senior Day game.
 
Senior forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio) led USI on the night with 19 points and nine rebounds. The senior forward moved into 12^th all-time in USI scoring history, passing assistant coach Emma DeHart. Junior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) was second in scoring on the night for USI, posting 15 points with eight boards. Sophomore guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) scored 13 points, including three made triples. Graduate forward Ashlynn Brown (Perrysburg, Ohio) tallied 10 points with seven rebounds. Brown played in her 121^st career game at USI on Saturday, which is second all-time in USI history behind DeHart's 126 games played.
 
Raley leads the team with 21 games scoring 10 or more and has been playing well in the last seven games. The junior forward is averaging 15.4 points in the last seven games played dating back to January 21. Raley's teammates in Haithcock and Shafford have been trying to keep up with her in double-digit games, as each has scored 10 or more in 19 games. Although, Haithcock leads the squad in games scoring 15 or more, having done so 13 times. Haithcock has scored 14 or more points in 14 of the last 18 games for USI. During the current 18-game stretch, Haithcock is averaging 15.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, featuring clutch, second-half performances from the senior forward.
 
On the season, Haithcock leads USI with 15.0 points per game and is second in rebounds with 6.3 boards per game. Raley is second at 13.6 points per contest, while Shafford is averaging 12.8 points and team-best 7.1 rebounds per outing.
 
Both contests this week will be the second meeting of the regular season. Little Rock edged USI, 47-44, back on January 12 in Evansville. USI opened the OVC season with a 68-54 home win against SEMO on December 29.
 
Little Rock has a 16-9 overall record and a 13-1 mark in OVC play. Little Rock has won eight straight contests and sits in a tie for first place in the OVC standings. Last Saturday, Little Rock captured a 53-49 road win against the University of Tennessee at Martin. Saturday was the 14th game this season that Little Rock held an opponent to below 50 points. Little Rock is first in the OVC and among the top-10 in the nation in scoring defense.
 
Redshirt junior forward Sali Kourouma leads Little Rock in scoring at 16.6 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per contest. The Trojans have three other players averaging eight or more points.
 
Southeast Missouri is 11-14 this season with a 6-8 record in conference action. The Redhawks appear to be back on track after two straight wins. Last time out, SEMO picked up a 69-55 home win against Morehead State University.
 
Sophomore forward Kennedi Watkins paces the Redhawks at 9.2 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per contest this season. In conference-only games, sophomore guard Jaliyah Green has led SEMO with over 11 points per outing.
 
Thursday's matchup can be seen live with a subscription to ESPN+, while Saturday's game will be shown on ESPN3. Both contests can be heard on 95.7 FM The Spin (http://957thespin.com).
 
Purchase All-Session Passes to the OVC Tournament, Support USI Athletics
 
The Ohio Valley Conference Tournament will be held at the Ford Center in Downtown Evansville March 1 through March 4. USI Athletics is offering a special discount on All-Session Ticket Books through February 24.
 
Purchase a Ticket Book through USI Athletics and attend ALL EIGHT SESSIONS for ONLY $60 (adult single session tickets are $30 & $20 for men's sessions and $15 for women's sessions + fees). This special offer allows you to avoid ticket fees AND $30 from each ticket book sold comes back to support USI student athletes. Ticket books purchased through USI Athletics will be available for pickup on campus prior to the first session at the Ford Center on March 1 and specific details on pickup will accompany your purchase confirmation.
 
Plan to purchase your All-Session OVC Tournament Tickets through the University of Southern Indiana Athletics Office (Link) to show your support for Screaming Eagles Basketball!