EVANSVILLE, Ind. – After claiming its first-ever Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship earlier this week, University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball looks to carry its momentum on Saturday at 1 p.m. against Western Illinois University to conclude a four-game road swing.
 
Saturday's game can be seen live with a subscription to ESPN+ and heard on 95.7 FM The Spin (http://957thespin.com). 
 
Southern Indiana (19-6, 14-1) captured the outright OVC regular season title on Tuesday night following a 72-64 road win at Morehead State. USI achieved the feat in only its second season at the NCAA Division I level and as an OVC member. In winning the regular season crown, USI has locked up the No. 1 seed at the OVC Tournament, March 6-9, at Ford Center in Evansville, earning a double-bye into the semifinals. By winning the regular season title, Southern Indiana became the first reclassifying women's basketball program to win a conference title since California Baptist University in 2020-21 when the Lancers won the Western Athletic Conference.
 
USI concludes a four-game road swing with its matchup at Western Illinois on Saturday. The Screaming Eagles have won their first three games of the current road stretch and have won five straight going back to February 8. USI is 4-1 on the road this month. A win on Saturday would be the 750th victory in USI Women's Basketball history.
 
In the last road game on Tuesday, Southern Indiana completed a regular season sweep of Morehead State with a 72-64 win. After USI led 22-9 through the first quarter, Morehead State fought back to make it a close contest. However, USI shot the ball for 45 percent, scored 42 points in the paint, and tallied 19 points off Morehead State turnovers to earn the victory. Additionally, USI only committed a season-low nine turnovers.
 
On Tuesday, USI had five players score 10 or more points in a game for the first time since December 2022. Senior forward Madi Webb (Bedford, Indiana) and freshman forward Chloe Gannon (Manchester, Tennessee) scored 14 points, sophomore guard Ali Saunders (Depauw, Indiana) and senior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) posted 13 points, and freshman guard Triniti Ralston (Louisville, Kentucky) scored a career-best 10 points.
 
On Tuesday, Saunders and Gannon swept the OVC's weekly awards. Saunders was named OVC Player and Newcomer of the Week, while Gannon earned OVC Freshman of the Week. The two received the awards after their road performances last week at the University of Tennessee at Martin and University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Both finished in double figures scoring in each game. Saunders put up 20 points against the Skyhawks and 18 against the Trojans. She totaled 10 three-pointers and 14 assists for the week. Gannon averaged 16.5 points while shooting 62 percent with eight boards per game last week. The freshman dropped her first career double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds against UT Martin before adding 16 points at Little Rock.
 
Southern Indiana is led this season by junior guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) with 13.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Raley and Webb are second and third in scoring at 12.5 points and 10.7 points per contest, respectively. As a team, USI is averaging 71.4 points per outing, second in the OVC. The Screaming Eagles are shooting an OVC-best 45 percent from the field and are holding opponents to a conference-leading 36.7 percent shooting. USI is also first in the OVC with a 35.4 three-point percentage and second in scoring defense, allowing only 62.9 points per game.
 
Western Illinois (16-10, 7-8) has dropped three consecutive games going into Saturday's meeting against USI. The Leathernecks narrowly fell 87-85 in double overtime last time out on Thursday against Morehead State. Following a slow start to the game, Western Illinois rallied in the second half to force the extra sessions. With OVC Tournament seeding still to be determined for spots two through eight, Western Illinois finds itself in seventh place entering Saturday.
 
On the season, the Leathernecks are led by freshman combo guard Raegan McCowan, who has won OVC Freshman of the Week honors multiple times this season. McCowan paces the Leathernecks at 18.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Western Illinois tops the OVC in scoring and rebounding at 74 points and 41.6 rebounds per outing.
 
Saturday will only be the third all-time meeting between USI and Western Illinois. Southern Indiana has won the first two meetings, including an 81-61 victory at Screaming Eagles Arena earlier this season on January 25. In that game, Raley had a game-high 21 points, Shafford had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Gannon poured in a career-high 18 points. Saunders also added 14 points for the Screaming Eagles.
 
Following Saturday, Southern Indiana will return home to Screaming Eagles Arena next week for a pair of home games against Lindenwood University and Southeast Missouri State University. Both games are 5 p.m. starts. Thursday's game is Ascension Heart Health Night, and fans are encouraged to red out Screaming Eagles Arena. Saturday's contest is Senior Night and the regular season finale.
 
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.