EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball opens its 2025-26 season at home Monday at 6 p.m. when USI hosts Franklin College inside Liberty Arena, home of the Screaming Eagles.
The season-opening contest can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+ and heard on The Spin 95.7 FM and ESPN WREF 97.7 FM.
USI Women's Basketball, which celebrates its 50-year anniversary in 2025-26, heads into its first season in which USI is eligible for potential NCAA postseason championship berths following a three-year reclassification period from Division II to Division I. USI was granted status as a full-fledged D-I member this past summer.
Last year, USI went 23-13 overall and 12-8 in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Screaming Eagles won two games in the OVC Tournament to advance to the semifinals, where USI fell to eventual champion Tennessee Tech University.
Following the strong run in the conference tournament, USI was selected for its second consecutive berth in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). During the 2024-25 edition of the WNIT, the Eagles made their first-ever appearance in the Super 16 round. Following a first-round bye, USI downed Campbell University before coming up short in the Super 16 against the University at Buffalo, which went on to be the WNIT champions.
In 2024-25, USI recorded its 36
th winning season in program history. The Eagles also secured their 15
th season with at least 20 wins. Last year was USI's second season in a row with 20-plus wins.
USI was projected to place fourth in the 2025-26 OVC preseason poll. The Screaming Eagles tied for fourth in the 2024-25 OVC standings. Senior guard
Ali Saunders and junior forward
Chloe Gannon were named to the OVC's Preseason Players to Watch List. In addition to her scoring and shooting, Saunders topped the OVC in total assists (157) and was second in assists per game (4.6) last year. Defensively, Saunders led the conference with 87 steals and was second with 2.6 steals per game. Gannon had a solid finish last season, combining for 15 points and seven rebounds in USI's last two games at the 2024-25 OVC Tournament.
Heading into 2025-26 and the 27
th season under Head Coach
Rick Stein, USI returns six players from last season and adds seven newcomers (four freshmen and three transfers) to the fold this season. Saunders is the only returning starter from 2024-25.
USI Women's Basketball returns only 41.5 percent of its scoring average from last season. Saunders is the top returning scorer after averaging 10.5 points on over 42 percent shooting last year. The Screaming Eagles graduated two of their all-time greats and top two scorers from a season ago in
Meredith Raley (14.5) and
Vanessa Shafford (12.1).
As a team, the Eagles led the OVC in field goal percentage (44.0) and field goal defense (38.8). USI ranked top three in scoring offense (71.3) and scoring defense (63.4) in the OVC last season. The Screaming Eagles also ranked first in the conference on the glass with 37.8 rebounds per game.
Monday's opponent, Franklin, is a Division III program out of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. Last season, Franklin went 15-11 overall and 9-9 in the HCAC. Franklin's season ended in the HCAC Tournament quarterfinals against Anderson University.
The Grizzlies averaged 71.8 points per game and allowed 69.3 points per game in 2024-25. Franklin's top returning scorers are senior guard Jordan Coon and sophomore forward Erica Buening. Coon averaged 15.5 points on nearly 41 percent shooting, while Buening averaged 10 points on nearly 44 percent shooting and pulled down a team-best 6.4 rebounds per contest.
USI and Franklin renew their series history for the first time since 1991. USI leads the all-time series 8-3, but Franklin won the last matchup in 1991, 61-52. The two teams first met during the 1976-77 season.
The Screaming Eagles are 31-20 in season openers and 36-15 in home openers since the first season in 1975-76.
Tickets for Monday and all home games at Liberty Arena can be purchased online at usiscreamingeagles.com or the USI Ticket Office.
