EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball concludes the 2022-23 regular season this week, seeking to earn a berth into the Ohio Valley Conference Championship Tournament. The Screaming Eagles host Tennessee Tech University Thursday at 5 p.m. in the home finale before traveling to Tennessee State University Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
At Thursday's home game, University of Southern Indiana Athletics will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the passing of Title IX. Some former female student-athletes and coaches will be in attendance and recognized for their contributions to USI Athletics.
 
The Screaming Eagles (11-16, 5-11) enter the week ninth in the OVC standings and one game back of Morehead State University for eighth, which is a coveted spot as only eight of the 10 OVC teams make it into the conference tournament. USI is coming off a road swing last week at the University of Arkansas Little Rock and Southeast Missouri State University, where Southern Indiana fell by single digits in each contest. With both games coming down to the final minute, Little Rock won 58-50 and Southeast Missouri won 63-59.
 
Saturday's game at SEMO was a tale of two halves for USI. After struggling in the first half of the contest, USI found its flow in the second half. Trailing by as many as 20 points early in the third quarter, USI came within one point of SEMO with three minutes left, but Southern Indiana ran out of time in its comeback effort.
 
Junior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) paced USI with a career-high 27 points against the Redhawks, having an instrumental role in USI's second-half push. Raley scored 23 of her 27 points in the second half. Senior forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio) registered 15 points and nine rebounds for the second consecutive game, nearly averaging a double-double for the week. Haithcock also had a big role in USI's strong second half in the game, scoring 13 of her 15 points after halftime. Raley and Haithcock combined to control the paint for USI in the last two quarters.
 
Following Saturday's game, Raley and Haithcock are the only USI players to score 25 or more in a game this season. Haithcock has done it twice with a 25-point game and a career-high 31 points at Lindenwood University earlier in conference play. Raley leads the team with 22 games scoring 10 or more and is averaging 15.6 points per outing in the last nine games. Haithcock has scored in double figures in 21 games this season and has scored 14 or more in 16 of the last 20 games, averaging 15.7 points per game and 7.5 rebounds during the 20-game stretch. Sophomore guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) has tallied double digits in scoring 20 times this season.
 
On the season, Haithcock leads USI with 15.0 points per game and is second in rebounds with 6.5 boards per game. Raley is second at 13.7 points per contest, while Shafford is averaging 12.6 points and team-best 7.0 rebounds per outing.
 
USI will be looking for a season split against each opponent this week. Tennessee Tech won the first meeting, 79-59, against USI in Cookeville, Tennessee on February, while Tennessee State won by four, 59-55, at USI on February 2 in the first matchup.
 
Tennessee Tech has a 17-9 overall record and is 11-5 in the OVC. The Golden Eagles have won four of their last five games and are third in the OVC standings. On Saturday, Tennessee Tech claimed a 74-63 home win against UT Martin. Tennessee Tech shot 50 percent overall and from three, hitting 11 three-pointers. The Golden Eagles are the top scoring offense and three-point shooting team in the conference.
 
Senior guard Maaliya Owens led the Golden Eagles with 27 points. On the season, Owens leads Tennessee Tech with 14.5 points per game. Senior guard Jada Guinn is second on the team at just under 10 points per contest.
 
Tennessee State is 11-15 this season with a 7-9 conference record. TSU has won three straight games and four of the last six. Last Saturday, Tennessee State won 87-83 at home against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Tennessee State shot nearly 60 percent in the game and were 19-26 at the line. The Tigers are the third-best scoring offense in the OVC, while on defense, they rank first in the conference in steals per game.
 
TSU had four players in double figures on Saturday and was led by graduate guard Erica Haynes-Overton with 19 points. Sophomore guard Gia Adams had 18 points. The Tigers are led in scoring by Haynes-Overton at 15.3 points per game. She also leads the team with 62 steals. Adams is second on the team in points, averaging 13.8 points per contest.
 
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!