EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball hits the road for the first time in over two weeks Sunday afternoon when the Screaming Eagles travel to face an old foe against Northern Kentucky University. Tipoff is at Noon CT from Truist Arena in Highland Heights, Kentucky.
 
Sunday's game can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+ and heard on The Spin 95.7 FM.
 
Sunday's game is only USI's (4-1) second road game of the season. Four of the first five games for the Eagles have come at home, going 3-1 in the process. USI won its first road game of the season, 68-52, at Saint Louis University back on November 12, which was the start of USI's current three-game winning streak.
 
Last time out, USI won in dominating fashion at home last Tuesday against Fisk University, 95-18, nearly setting a program record for the fewest points allowed in a game. The record is 17 points allowed, which USI set in a 45-17 win against Kentucky Wesleyan College in December of 1976. Instead, the Eagles tied for the second-fewest points surrendered in a game in USI history, which was previously a 113-18 win against Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in January 1979.
 
Not only did USI showcase its stingy defense in the 95-18 home win against Fisk last Tuesday, but the Screaming Eagles also owned the glass. USI pulled down 55 rebounds in the contest. The 55 rebounds were the most for USI in a game since the 2017-18 season, when the Screaming Eagles had 59 rebounds against Harris-Stowe State University.
 
Offensively, against Fisk, USI made 40 field goals in a game for the first time since November 2016, when USI made 44 shots against Hannibal-LaGrange University. On Tuesday, all 11 active Screaming Eagles saw the floor and scored in the game. Junior guard Sophia Loden led the way with a career-high 22 points on 10-14 shooting. Loden also finished with 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Freshman guard Lily Graves had her best showing of the season with 17 points on 6-9 shooting, including three triples. Freshman forward Alli Robertson and junior forward Maddy Fay each had a career-best 10 points.
 
After her 22-point performance last Tuesday, Loden jumped into the team lead in season scoring at 15 points per game. The junior also paces the squad with 7.4 rebounds per contest. Senior guard Ali Saunders, who is 13 points away from 1,000 career points, is second in scoring with 14.3 points per outing. Junior forward Chloe Gannon is third at 12 points per contest. As a team, USI is averaging 82.4 points while limiting the opposition to a D-I best 45.2 points per game.
 
After a slow start to the season, Northern Kentucky (2-6) has two wins in its last four games. Last time out, the Norse claimed a 90-69 victory against Drake University in a multi-team event down in Nashville, Tennessee. Northern Kentucky's other win came in their only home game so far this season, a 70-61 victory over the University of Toledo on November 19.
 
Freshman guard Karina Bystry, who led the Norse with 17 points against Drake, tops the squad this season at 10.8 points per game as the only player on the team averaging double digits. Collectively, Northern Kentucky averages nearly 65 points per game while giving up 76 points per game.
 
USI and Northern Kentucky add another chapter to their long rivalry, which dates to when both programs were in the Great Lakes Valley Conference at the Division II level. The Norse lead the all-time series, 38-20, but the Screaming Eagles won last year's matchup at USI that renewed the old rivalry, 75-73.
 
Sunday's game is the start of a two-game road stretch for the Screaming Eagles over the course of the next week.