EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Following the opening week of Ohio Valley Conference play, University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball concludes its non-conference slate on Monday at 5:30 p.m. CT when the Screaming Eagles visit top-25 University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Monday's game can be seen on SEC Network+ and heard on The Spin 95.7 FM.
USI Women's Basketball (8-2, 2-0 OVC) enters Monday's contest against the #17/#18 Lady Volunteers (7-3, 0-0 SEC) on a four-game winning streak. USI is 2-1 on the road this season heading into Monday's first-ever matchup against Tennessee.
Monday will be USI's first game this season against a Power-4 or ranked opponent. USI has faced seven major-conference opponents since moving up to Division I in 2022.
The Screaming Eagles opened its OVC schedule this past week with wins against the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Morehead State University, jumping out to a 2-0 start in the OVC for the third consecutive season.
On Saturday, USI downed Morehead State, 78-59, behind another solid defensive performance. The Screaming Eagles forced Morehead State into 25 turnovers, leading to 33 points on the offensive end for USI.
Senior guard
Ali Saunders highlighted Saturday's win by dropping a career-high 35 points to pace USI. Saunders poured in the 35 points on 10-22 shooting overall with six made threes and a perfect 9-9 at the free-throw line. The senior scored 25 of the 35 points in the second half. Saunders passed her previous USI best of 23 points from earlier this season against Murray State University on November 7 and her previous career best of 32 points, which she set while at Valparaiso University as a freshman against the University of Alabama Birmingham on November 21, 2022.
Saunders recorded USI's first 30-point performance since Hannah Haithcock dropped 31 points at Lindenwood University on January 19, 2023, and it was the first effort of 35 or more points since former Eagle Emma DeHart tallied 39 points at Rockhurst University on February 6, 2021. Saunders' six made triples were the most in a game by a USI player since
Vanessa Shafford made seven treys in an overtime win at Western Illinois University on February 24, 2024.
Two other Screaming Eagles finished in double figures against Morehead State. Junior forward
Chloe Gannon tallied 15 points, while freshman forward
Channah Gannon registered a dozen for her third straight double-digit game to begin her collegiate career.
On the season, Saunders leads the team in scoring at 16.4 points and with 4.7 assists per game. Junior guard
Sophia Loden is second in scoring with 13.7 points while topping the squad with 9.3 rebounds per contest.
Channah Gannon and
Chloe Gannon are averaging 13 and 12.5 points per outing, respectively.
Collectively, USI is averaging 75 points (second in the OVC) while holding its opponents to 50.2 points per game. The Eagles rank first in the OVC and third in the nation in scoring defense. USI is also first in the OVC and top 10 in the nation in field goal percentage defense (33.1 percent).
Tennessee heads into Monday's game coming off an 89-65 loss against #16/#17 University of Louisville on Saturday at the Shark Beauty Women's Champions Classic in Brooklyn, New York. The Cardinals pulled away after the two teams were tied at 17 through the first quarter.
The Lady Vols have already faced three opponents that USI also has on its schedule. Tennessee defeated East Tennessee State University, 97-47, the University of Tennessee at Martin, 72-61, and Middle Tennessee State University, 85-41.
Tennessee is led in scoring this season by senior forward Janiah Barker and redshirt junior guard Talaysia Cooper with 15.3 points per game. Senior forward Zee Spearman and senior guard Nya Robertson are averaging 11.2 and 10.1 points per contest, respectively. As a team, the Lady Vols average 80.6 points and allow 61.2 points per outing.
Following Monday's game and a holiday break, USI Women's Basketball will return to Ohio Valley Conference action with a road swing at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on New Year's Day and at Lindenwood University on January 3.
