EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball rings in the new year by returning to Ohio Valley Conference play this week, traveling to face Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Thursday at 1 p.m. and at Lindenwood University on Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
Both games this week can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+ and heard on The Spin 95.7 FM.
 
USI Women's Basketball (8-3, 2-0 OVC) heads into its New Year's Day tilt at SIUE (8-4, 1-1 OVC) with a 2-0 start in conference action for the third consecutive season after capturing home wins against the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 57-40, and Morehead State University, 78-59, in mid-December.
 
The Screaming Eagles seek their second win in their OVC road opener, having last won an OVC road opener at Southeast Missouri State University in 2023-24.
 
USI will be playing on New Year's Day for the first time on Thursday. The Eagles have played on New Year's Eve in each of their first three seasons in the Ohio Valley Conference.
 
Most recently, USI concluded its non-conference slate before the holiday break, falling 89-44 at the top-25 University of Tennessee on December 22. The result moved USI's road record to 2-2 on the season. Senior guard Ali Saunders led the Screaming Eagles in scoring for the fourth game in a row with 14 points against the Lady Volunteers. Junior forward Chloe Gannon also notched double figures with 11 points at Tennessee.
 
Saunders has led the scoring charge of late for the Screaming Eagles. Over the last four games, Saunders is averaging 21.3 points per game on nearly 42 percent shooting overall, above 34 percent from three with 11 made triples, and a perfect 22-22 at the free-throw line. Overall, Saunders has made 23 consecutive attempts from the charity stripe.
 
On the season, Saunders tops the squad at 16.2 points per outing. Junior guard Sophia Loden is second with 13 points per game while leading the team with 9.2 rebounds per game. Gannon is also averaging double digits at 12.4 points per contest.
 
Collectively, USI is averaging 72.2 points per game, ranking third in the OVC. Defensively, the Screaming Eagles are holding opponents to 53.7 points per game. USI's scoring defense (53.7) and field goal percentage defense (34.0) rank in the top 25 nationally.
 
Like the Screaming Eagles, SIUE is off to a strong start this season with eight wins overall entering 2026. The Cougars have won three of their last four games. SIUE began its OVC slate before the holiday break on the road with a 59-52 win over Eastern Illinois University before a 75-51 loss at Western Illinois University.
 
Freshman forward Lauren Miller, who is the reigning OVC Freshman of the Week, and freshman guard Kiyoko Proctor pace the Cougars at 13.6 points per game. Proctor also leads the team in three-point shooting (39.3 percent), assists (2.7 per game), and steals (1.7 per contest). In the last game at Western Illinois, Miller and Proctor led the team with 21 and 14 points, respectively. The Cougars average 65.2 points per game and allow 56.3 points per outing.
 
USI leads the all-time series against SIUE, 31-25, including four straight wins in the series. The Screaming Eagles are 5-1 against SIUE since moving up to Division I and joining the Ohio Valley Conference in 2022 to renew an old, longtime rivalry against the Cougars when both teams were in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
 
Lindenwood (9-4, 1-1 OVC) is off to another good start this season as well and enters the week off back-to-back wins. The Lions wrapped up their non-conference schedule last time out with a 71-36 win against Ottawa University (Kansas). Like SIUE, Lindenwood also split its opening OVC set, falling 74-65 at Western Illinois before an 87-55 victory at Eastern Illinois.
 
Three Lions are averaging double figures this season. Graduate guard Aleshia Jones is first on the team with 13.3 points per game. Junior guard Ellie Brueggemann and junior guard Brooke Coffey are right behind with 12.8 and 12.6 points per contest, respectively. Lindenwood is posting 74.3 points and allowing 60.9 points per game.
 
The Screaming Eagles are 9-1 all-time against Lindenwood and 5-1 as OVC foes. USI looks to avenge its only setback that came in the Eagles' last visit to St. Charles, Missouri, last February, when the Lions came out ahead 75-56.
 
Following this week's road swing to SIUE and Lindenwood, USI Women's Basketball will return home to Liberty Arena next week for a pair against Southeast Missouri State on January 8 and the University of Tennessee at Martin on January 10.