EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Following a four-game road swing, University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball returns home to the friendly confines of Screaming Eagles Arena Thursday against Lindenwood University and Saturday against Southeast Missouri State University. Both games are set for 5 p.m.
 
Both matchups can be seen live with a subscription to ESPN+ and heard on 95.7 FM The Spin (http://957thespin.com).
 
Thursday is Heart Health Night with Ascension. Fans are encouraged to wear red apparel to red out Screaming Eagles Arena. There will be giveaways and an informational table courtesy of Ascension. On Saturday, the regular season finale, USI Women's Basketball will recognize senior guards Addy Blackwell (Bloomington, Indiana) and Tori Handley (Jeffersonville, Indiana) as well as team manager Mason Auker for Senior Night.
 
Southern Indiana (20-6, 15-1) comes into the home slate this week on a six-game winning streak, the second-longest of the season for the Screaming Eagles. USI swept its four-game road swing within the last two weeks. Earlier this season, USI won 10 straight contests between December 22 and February 1.
 
With nine Great Lakes Valley Conference championships in program history, USI claimed its first-ever Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship last week in only the second season in Division I. Southern Indiana will be the No. 1 seed at the OVC Tournament next week, March 6-9, 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 won the Western Athletic Conference in 2020-21. Only a few other teams have achieved the feat since 2000.
 
Last Saturday, Southern Indiana won a thrilling 96-89 overtime game at Western Illinois University for the team's 750^th win in program history. Head Coach Rick Stein has had a hand in 602 of the 750 program victories as an assistant coach and head coach. Saturday's win marked USI's 14^th 20-win season in program history. Earlier this season, USI achieved its 35^th overall winning season.
 
Saturday was USI's first overtime game of the season and 19^th overtime win all time. The Screaming Eagles had five players score in double digits for the second consecutive game. Junior guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) led the way with her seventh double-double this season, posting 25 points and 10 rebounds. Shafford was a point shy of her career high, but the guard set a new career-best with seven three-pointers made. The last time a Screaming Eagle made seven triples in a game was Stephanie Carpenter in February 2014 against Maryville University.
 
Also scoring in double figures on Saturday was senior forward Madi Webb (Bedford, Indiana) with 15 points, freshman forward Chloe Gannon (Manchester, Tennessee) had 14 points, and senior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) and sophomore guard Ali Saunders (Depauw, Indiana) each added 12 points. Blackwell also had a notable performance with nine points and a career-best eight assists.
 
On the season, Shafford paces USI at 14.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Raley and Webb are second and third on the team in scoring with 12.4 and 10.8 points per game, respectively. Southern Indiana is averaging 72.3 points on an OVC-best 45 percent shooting. USI also has the best field goal percentage defense in the OVC, holding opponents to 36.8 percent.
 
Lindenwood (7-19, 5-11) enters the week trying to keep its OVC Tournament hopes alive and potentially clinch a berth. The Lions are a game back of the coveted eighth and final spot in the OVC Tournament. Lindenwood is 1-12 on the road this season. The Lions are coming off a solid home win against the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Saturday, winning 61-54. Freshman guard Ellie Brueggemann averages 14 points per outing to lead Lindenwood, which tallies 66.1 points per game as a team.
 
Southern Indiana has won also seven previous meetings against Lindenwood, including the first four meetings when both teams were in the GLVC. This season, USI won a tight contest, 71-68, at Lindenwood in the second game of the conference slate. Raley led USI with 21 points while Shafford chipped in 17 points.
 
Southeast Missouri (8-19, 5-11) comes into the week in a similar situation as Lindenwood, sitting one game back of eighth place in the OVC standings. SEMO dropped both of its home contests last week, falling 61-48 to Little Rock and 64-61 against the University of Tennessee at Martin. The Redhawks average 61.9 points per game and are led by two players posting double figures. Sophomore guard Alecia Doyle and junior guard Jaliyah Green are averaging 13.6 and 13 points, respectively.
 
SEMO leads the all-time series against USI, 12-3. After splitting two games in 2022-23, Southern Indiana captured the conference opener at Southeast Missouri in late December this season. The Screaming Eagles got the best of the Redhawks, 75-37. Shafford had a USI-high 15 points while Raley dropped a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds.
 
Tickets for both games this week 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.