EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball starts a road-heavy month of February in the Ohio Valley Conference this week with a two-game swing down to Tennessee, taking on Tennessee Tech University Thursday at 5:30 p.m. before visiting Tennessee State University Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
Both matchups can be seen live with a subscription to ESPN+ and heard on 95.7 FM The Spin (http://957thespin.com).
 
Southern Indiana (13-5, 8-0) will play six of nine games in February away from Screaming Eagles Arena. USI has won three Ohio Valley Conference road contests so far as part of the Screaming Eagles' nine-game winning streak. The Eagles enter the road trip unbeaten in OVC play, sitting in first place by two games.
 
Heading into the halfway point of the conference season, USI looks to continue its momentum having won 10 of the last 11 games going back to mid-December. Southern Indiana's nine consecutive wins overall and eight in a row in OVC action rank among the top 12 in the nation in active winning streaks, respectively. The current run by USI is a program best since the 2017-18 campaign while playing in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. USI is enjoying its best start to a conference schedule since 1996-97. Southern Indiana received votes this week in the latest CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top 25 poll.
 
Most recently, Southern Indiana completed a three-game homestand sweep last Thursday with an 81-61 victory against Western Illinois University. Following a tight, back-and-forth struggle in the first half, USI pulled away with a big second-half effort. For the game, the Screaming Eagles shot above 47 percent overall with 11 three-pointers.
 
In Thursday's win, senior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) led all scorers with 21 points, while freshman forward Chloe Gannon (Manchester, Tennessee) posted a career-high 18 points. Junior guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) picked up her fourth double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Shafford has scored 10 or more in 16 consecutive outings.
 
Sophomore guard Ali Saunders (Depauw, Indiana) was named OVC Newcomer of the Week on Tuesday after her performance in last Thursday's victory against the Leathernecks. Saunders tallied a season-high 14 points, connecting on four triples in the process, and matched a career-best seven assists. Saunders also grabbed five rebounds in her fifth start of the season.
 
Saunders has been solid since entering the starting lineup, averaging more than 10 points per game in the last five contests and leading to an increase in her season average. The guard is registering nearly three rebounds and leads the team with nearly three assists per contest. In the OVC, Saunders ranks inside the top 12 in assists and is second with a 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio. In shooting the ball, Saunders paces Southern Indiana with a three-point percentage of 40 percent while hitting above 42 percent overall.
 
The play by USI's forwards has been stellar lately. Raley has scored 10-plus in eight of the last nine games. The senior is recording 15.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game in the nine-game stretch, shooting nearly 55 percent from the floor and 81 percent at the charity stripe. Senior forward Madi Webb (Bedford, Indiana) has been strong in the last five games, tying for a team-best 14.2 points per contest on 63 percent shooting during the span. Webb leads the OVC with a 56.6 field-goal percentage in conference-only games.
 
Through 18 games, Shafford leads USI in scoring at 14.7 points, which is seventh in the Ohio Valley Conference. Shafford is also third in the conference in shooting at 45.3 percent and fifth in rebounding with 7.7 boards per contest. Raley is second on the team in scoring with 12.3 points, while Webb is third at 10.8 points per game.
 
As a team, Southern Indiana is third in the OVC with 70.4 points per contest. USI is first in overall shooting at 43.5 percent and third in rebounding with 40.2 rebounds per game. The Screaming Eagles have held opponents to a league-best 36.7 percent from the floor. In conference-only games, USI ranks second in scoring offense (73.6) and scoring defense (57.0). The Eagles are first in field-goal percentage (45.0) and field-goal percentage defense (32.8) in league play.
 
Tennessee Tech is 9-10 this season with a .500 record of 4-4 in conference play. The Golden Eagles are tied for fifth in the OVC standings. Tennessee Tech split its two games last week, falling 73-71 at Eastern Illinois University last Thursday before claiming a 67-58 win at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Saturday.  The Golden Eagles average 69.1 points per game on 41.2 percent shooting. Graduate guard Maaliya Owens paces Tennessee Tech in scoring, recording 15.6 points per outing.
 
Tennessee State is 5-13 overall and is tied for ninth in the OVC standings with a 2-6 record. The Tigers have dropped three straight games, including a couple of overtime losses in the last two games. Last Thursday, Tennessee State fell at Eastern Illinois, 71-67. The Tigers are averaging 62.2 points per game on 38 percent shooting and are led in scoring by senior guard Sanaa' St. Andre with 15.1 points per contest.
 
Thursday will be the fourth all-time meeting and second of the season between Tennessee Tech and USI. After Tennessee Tech swept the season series in 2022-23, Southern Indiana won the first faceoff this season, 69-66, in a thrilling game on January 6 at Screaming Eagles Arena. Shafford and Raley each posted a double-double for USI, while Saunders also scored in double figures after draining a clutch three-pointer late in the game to close out the win for USI.
 
Southern Indiana leads the series history against Tennessee State, 2-1, after USI captured a 78-57 victory on January 4 at Screaming Eagles Arena. Shafford went off in the game, knocking down six triples toward pouring in a career-best 26 points. The two teams split their two games last season.
 
Following the road swing to Tennessee this week, Southern Indiana will return home to Screaming Eagles Arena next week for a pair of games against Eastern Illinois and SIUE. Tickets for both 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.