EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball concludes a three-game road swing on Tuesday when the Screaming Eagles visit Morehead State University for a 4 p.m. CT contest.
Tuesday's game against Morehead State begins the second half of the Ohio Valley Conference season. This week's slate can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+ and heard on The Spin 95.7 FM. WREF 97.7 FM will have additional radio coverage of Saturday's home game at Liberty Arena against Tennessee Tech University, which tips off at 1 p.m.
Heading into the new week, Southern Indiana (15-6, 7-3 OVC) is tied for fourth in OVC standings alongside the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and three games back of first-place Eastern Illinois University. Tennessee Tech and Lindenwood University are tied for second and one game in front of USI.
The Screaming Eagles will play their third road game in six days on Tuesday when USI faces Morehead State. Six of USI's eight games in January have been on the road in the form of two three-game road trips. Southern Indiana is 3-6 away from home this season and 2-3 on the road in OVC play. USI split its first two games of the current road trip, winning 69-65 last Thursday at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville before a narrow 51-49 loss on Saturday at Eastern Illinois.
Saturday's game was a scrappy, defensive battle between USI and Eastern Illinois. Both teams shot below 40 percent from the floor. The Screaming Eagles trailed 24-18 at the break and by 10 in the early minutes of the third quarter. USI responded with a run later in the third to close the gap. Southern Indiana led by one with 30 seconds left in the game before the Panthers swung the momentum back with a game-winning three-point play.
Senior guard
Vanessa Shafford led USI with 15 points and nine rebounds against Eastern Illinois. Shafford also extended her USI record for three-pointers made by connecting on her 200
th career triple early in Saturday's outing. This season, Shafford is second on the team in scoring with 12 points per game and paces the squad with 7.2 rebounds.
Graduate forward
Meredith Raley leads the team at 14.5 points per contest. Raley is 13 points away from recording 1,500 points in her career. Plus, Raley's next appearance will tie the program record for total games played, which is currently held by Emma DeHart (2017-22) with 126 games played.
Southern Indiana has two others averaging double-digits this season. Junior guard
Ali Saunders and sophomore guard
Triniti Ralston are averaging 11 and 10.7 points per game, respectively. Sophomore guard
Sophia Loden, who has started the last four games, has raised her season average as of late. Loden has registered 11.4 points in the last five games. Overall, USI averages an OVC-best 72.8 points and allows an OVC-low 61.6 points per contest.
Morehead State (7-13, 2-8 OVC) enters the week looking to snap a four-game losing streak. Last time out, Morehead State fell 76-58 at SIUE on Saturday. The Eagles' two OVC wins have come against Southeast Missouri State University and Tennessee State University.
Sophomore guard Kate Novik leads Morehead State in scoring (13.4), assists (4.5), and steals (2.6). Freshman guard Chrishawn Coleman averages just below 10 points per game but dropped 21 points on Saturday against SIUE. As a team, Morehead State is posting 67.2 and surrendering 73.3 points per game.
USI leads the all-time series against Morehead State, 4-1. Southern Indiana has won four straight in the series after Morehead State took the first matchup in 2023. Earlier this season, USI won 79-65 at home over Morehead State on December 31. Raley led the Screaming Eagles with 20 points in that last meeting.
Tennessee Tech (14-5, 8-2 OVC) is on a five-game winning streak going into the week. The Golden Eagles swept both of last week's games against Tennessee State, 71-64, and the University of Tennessee at Martin, 70-59. Tennessee Tech is in the middle of a four-game road stretch.
The Golden Eagles have four players averaging double figures. Junior guard Reghan Grimes tops the squad at 13.3 points per game. Graduate guard Peyton Carter is next in scoring with 11.6 points per outing. Freshman guard Chloe Larry and graduate guard Keeley Carter average 10.6 and 10.4 points, respectively. Overall, Tennessee Tech is plus seven in scoring margin on the season, 69.3-62.3.
Tennessee Tech holds a 3-2 advantage in the series history against Southern Indiana after protecting its home court with an 83-79 win in the last meeting on January 2. Ralston led USI in the game by matching her career best with 25 points. Shafford tallied a double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds down in Cookeville, Tennessee.
Saturday's home game against Tennessee Tech, presented by Tri-State Orthopaedics, is Mental Health Awareness Day at Liberty Arena. Tickets for all home games at Liberty Arena can be purchased online at usiscreamingeagles.com or the USI Ticket Office.
