EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball welcomes Western Illinois University to Screaming Eagles Arena Thursday at 5 p.m. to conclude a three-game homestand, as the Screaming Eagles look to add to their winning streak and unbeaten record in the Ohio Valley Conference.
 
Thursday's matchup can be seen live with a subscription to ESPN+ and heard on 95.7 FM The Spin (http://957thespin.com).
 
Thursday is a White Out at Screaming Eagles Arena. Fans should wear their white apparel or purchase a white USI t-shirt through the USI Campus Store or at the ScreagleZone Fan Shop inside the arena lobby. Plus, fans and students will want to arrive early for a free t-shirt and rally towel giveaway.
 
Southern Indiana (12-5, 7-0) sits in first place in the Ohio Valley Conference standings. With 12 overall wins this season, the Screaming Eagles have matched its wins total from 2022-23, and with seven OVC wins, USI has already surpassed its 2022-23 OVC wins total. Entering Thursday, USI has won nine of its last 10 games and is the only OVC team with seven conference wins.
 
USI enters Thursday's matchup with eight consecutive wins, which is tied for 10th best among active winning streaks in the nation. Plus, USI has won seven straight to begin the OVC season, which is tied for 12th best among active conference winning streaks in the nation.
 
 The eight overall wins in a row are a program best since the 2018-19 campaign, and the seven straight conference wins are a team best since the 2017-18 season. With seven consecutive wins to start the OVC slate, USI is enjoying its best start to a conference schedule since 1996-97, when the Screaming Eagles went 30-2 and was an NCAA II National Finalist.
 
On Saturday, Southern Indiana extended its winning streak with a come-from-behind 70-55 victory. Trailing by as many as 11 in the middle of the first half, USI charged back with a 24-5 run in the second quarter and then never trailed in the second half. USI had four players score in double figures and outscored Morehead State 44-24 in the paint.
 
In Saturday's win, senior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) scored a game-high 18 points en route to becoming the 21st Screaming Eagle to reach 1,000 career points in USI Women's Basketball history. In addition to Raley's 18-point performance, junior guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) and senior forward Madi Webb (Bedford, Indiana) tallied 14 points, while sophomore guard Ali Saunders (Depauw, Indiana) recorded 11 points.
 
 
Over the last four games, Webb is averaging 16.5 points and eight rebounds in 26.2 minutes per game. Webb played a career-best 33 minutes last Thursday against the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Webb has shot over 64 percent in the last four games, and she leads the OVC with a 56.9 percent field goal percentage in conference-only games.
 
Shafford has scored 10-plus in the Eagles' last 15 games. In the 15-game stretch, Shafford is averaging 15.7 points per contest, shooting above 46 percent overall, and connecting at nearly 37 percent from long range.
 
Raley has also been solid as of late, scoring 10 or more in seven of the last eight games, including a pair of 20-point outings. During the eight-game span, Raley is averaging 14.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Raley has also shot above 50 percent from the floor and 82 percent at the charity stripe.
 
Additionally, Saunders has had a strong stretch on the floor for the Screaming Eagles. Saunders has started four consecutive games. The guard has scored 10-plus in three of the four starts, and she has dished out 19 assists in those games. In OVC play, Saunders is fourth in the league with a 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio and sixth with 4.3 helpers per contest.
 
This season, Shafford leads USI in scoring at 14.7 points, which is sixth in the OVC. Shafford is also third in the league in field goal percentage, shooting 45.9 percent, and fifth in rebounding with 7.4 boards per contest. Raley and Webb are next on the team in scoring with 11.8 and 11.2 points per game, respectively.
 
As a team, Southern Indiana is third in the conference with 69.8 points per game. USI ranks second in field goal percentage (42.3) and third in rebounding (40.1). The Screaming Eagles are first in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 37.1 percent shooting. In league play, USI is second in the OVC in scoring (72.6) and field goal percentage (44.7), but the defense has been just as good. Through seven conference games, USI is holding OVC opponents to a conference-low 56.4 points and 33.2 percent shooting.
 
Western Illinois is also 12-5 overall with a 3-3 record in OVC action. The Leathernecks are in a four-team deadlock for fifth place in the OVC standings. Western Illinois is coming off a 79-71 overtime victory on Saturday against Tennessee State University. After being tied at 66 through the end of regulation, WIU outscored the Tigers, 13-5, in the extra frame. Freshman combo guard Raegan McCowan, the reigning OVC Player and Freshman of the Week, posted 28 points and 17 rebounds against Tennessee State.
 
McCowan paces the Leathernecks with 18.2 points and 7.6 boards per contest. Western Illinois is the top scoring and shooting team in the Ohio Valley Conference overall this season, averaging 77.6 points on 43.8 percent shooting from the floor.
 
Thursday will be the second all-time meeting between Southern Indiana and Western Illinois. The Eagles defeated the Leathernecks, 88-75, in a non-conference matchup inside Screaming Eagles Arena last season. In fact, it was the second game of the 2022-23 campaign and was Southern Indiana's first win against a D-I opponent since USI started the transition to Division I last year. In that matchup, Raley scored 18 points, Shafford had 16 points, and graduate guard Tori Handley (Jeffersonville, Indiana) chipped in 13 points.
 
Tickets for the Western Illinois game are on sale and can be purchased by visiting the USI Ticket Office online. For more information, call the USI Ticket Office at 812-465-1189.