EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball closes the non-conference season Sunday at 1 p.m. when the Screaming Eagles visit the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois.
 
The first-ever meeting between the two programs can be seen on Big Ten+ and heard on The Spin 95.7 FM.
 
In a battle of two 8-2 teams on Sunday, Southern Indiana's visit to Illinois marks the Screaming Eagles' third matchup against a power-conference team this season and their second against a Big Ten Conference opponent. USI fell in the second game of the season at top-25 University of Louisville, 75-51, and was narrowly edged out on December 4 at Indiana University, 67-63. Illinois will be the fourth Big Ten team USI has played since moving to Division I in 2022. The Eagles also played Purdue University and the University of Wisconsin last season in 2023-24.
 
Sunday's contest at Illinois is USI's final tune-up game before the start of Ohio Valley Conference play on December 19 against Tennessee State University. Southern Indiana opens conference play with three consecutive home games at Liberty Arena between December 19 and December 31.
 
Preceding finals week at USI, the Screaming Eagles returned home to Liberty Arena with a 70-45 win against Oakland City University last Saturday. Following an even start to the game, the Eagles pulled away in the middle of the game after holding the Mighty Oaks to nine points in the second quarter and outscoring Oakland City 25-11 in the third quarter. Southern Indiana capitalized on 50 points in the paint and 30 points off turnovers. USI's defense forced 28 turnovers with 18 steals.
 
Junior guard Ali Saunders (6) and sophomore guard Triniti Ralston (7) combined for 13 of the team's 18 takeaways. Ralston's seven steals in the game was a USI first since January 20, 2020, when Emma DeHart had seven against McKendree University. The combination of Ralston and Saunders was the first game with two USI players recording six or more steals in the same game since November 21, 2004, when Marshay Jolly and Brandon Sabrina did so in a 62-point win against Calumet of St. Joseph.
 
Defense is a key priority for Southern Indiana, as the Screaming Eagles rank first in the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring defense (56.0), field-goal percentage defense (33.7), three-point defense (25.1), turnover defense (21.7), steals (12.1), and defensive rebounding (28.4). Across Division I, USI ranks top 50 in the nation in three-point defense and turnovers forced per game, and the Eagles are top 30 in the nation in steals and top 15 in field-goal percentage defense.
 
Offensively, graduate forward Meredith Raley led Southern Indiana in scoring in the last game against Oakland City, dropping 26 points on 12-16 shooting. Raley was one point away from tying her career high that she set in February 2023 at Southeast Missouri State University. Between the game against Oakland City and on the road at Indiana last week, Raley paced USI with 18 points per game while also grabbing 12 total rebounds.
 
Raley's 26-point performance against the Mighty Oaks propelled the forward into the team lead in scoring at 13.2 points per contest. Saunders is second with 12.7 points per outing but tops the squad with 4.2 assists, three steals, and 31.5 minutes played per game. Senior guard Vanessa Shafford is third on the team with 11.6 points per game. USI averages 74.1 points as a team.
 
Heading into Sunday's tilt at Illinois, Southern Indiana is No. 18 in the CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top 25® for the second consecutive week. USI has been top 20 for four straight weeks. In the NCAA NET ratings, the Eagles are in the low 80s and are the only OVC team in the top 100.
 
Illinois, the reigning 2023-24 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) champions, received votes in the latest AP Top 25 poll, technically falling as the 27^th team, and was ranked No. 25 in the latest Coaches Poll earlier this week. The Fighting Illini started their season 6-0 before suffering their first loss to top-20 University of Kentucky on November 27. Since then, Illinois has had two wins in its last three games but endured another ranked loss at the hands of top-15 ranked Ohio State University last Sunday to tip off play in the Big Ten Conference.
 
Prior to Sunday's game against USI, Illinois is coming off a 70-52 home win on Thursday against Bradley University. The game was a good battle throughout, featuring seven lead changes and a single-digit score difference through each of the first three quarters. The Illini went on to win the fourth quarter, 17-8, to eventually reach a double-digit advantage and earn the win. Despite both teams being effective from the field, Illinois capitalized on points in the paint (+22), points off turnovers (+9), and second-chance points (+13).
 
Coming a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds on Thursday, fifth-year forward Kendall Bostic leads Illinois at 16.7 points and 10.4 rebounds per game this season. Bostic has six double-doubles on the season. Second in scoring is senior guard Adalia McKenzie at 13.1 points per game. McKenzie scored 23 points against Bradley. Four other players are registering double figures for Illinois on the season. Illinois averages 75.1 points while limiting opponents to 57.6 points per game.
 
Game coverage information and links can be found on the USI Women's Basketball page at usiscreamingeagles.com.