EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball soared past the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 73-52, in the quarterfinals of the Ohio Valley Conference Championship Tournament Thursday afternoon.
 
The Screaming Eagles improved to 22-11 overall (12-8 OVC) and advanced to Friday's semifinal round against no. 1 seed Tennessee Tech University, tipping off at 1 p.m. from Ford Center in downtown Evansville. The Trojans conclude their season 14-16 (12-8 OVC).
 
Little Rock opened the scoring with six straight points before graduate forward Meredith Raley started the scoring for USI with a massive three from the top of the key. USI proceeded to go on a 7-0 run to take the lead, 10-8, with the help of a corner three from senior guard Vanessa Shafford. The Trojans' offense stormed into the media timeout on another 6-0 run, retaking the lead 14-10. Momentum swayed back in USI's favor after the timeout, as a pair of Raley free throws and a three by sophomore guard Triniti Ralston put the Eagles back in front 15-14 with 3:38 left in the first quarter. USI finished the first with a four-point advantage, 19-15, while shooting 53.8 percent as a team.
 
The Screaming Eagles' offense kept churning. They opened the second quarter with nine straight points over the first four minutes to extend the lead to double figures, 28-15. Later in the quarter, USI's advantage climbed to 16 points, 36-20, with 2:30 left in the first half. Southern Indiana carried a 12-point lead, 38-26, into halftime after its suffocating defense held Little Rock to just five points through the first seven minutes of the second quarter and 11 for the period.
 
Little Rock came out of halftime on the attack and firing, cutting the deficit down to six, 42-36, three minutes into the second half. However, Southern Indiana remained in control, starting another run on a difficult basket from sophomore guard Sophia Loden to spark USI's offensive attack. A strong finish for a three-point play by Raley increased USI's lead back up to double digits. USI's stellar bench production on Thursday helped the Eagles push their lead back to 16, 54-38, going to the fourth quarter.
 
The two sides exchanged blows in the early going of the fourth quarter, but Southern Indiana refused to let Little Rock make up any ground. A Shafford elbow triple and a bucket from sophomore forward Amiyah Buchanan just past the halfway point of the fourth ballooned USI's lead to 22, 67-45, the largest difference in the game. The Screaming Eagles' defensive wall continued to stand tall to seal the quarterfinal victory.
 
The Screaming Eagles maintained their solid play on both ends of the court from Wednesday's first-round win. Collectively, USI shot nearly 47 percent (29-62) from the floor and over 31 percent (6-19) from three. The Eagles were 9-12 for 75 percent at the line. Southern Indiana controlled the boards, 45-27, and the paint, 40-30. USI had 20 second-chance points on 16 offensive rebounds. Additionally, USI boasted 27 points from its bench compared to only four bench points for the Trojans.
 
Raley picked up where she left off on Wednesday, scoring a team-high 16 points on 4-5 shooting and 6-7 at the free-throw line. Shafford finished with 10 points. Four other Screaming Eagles tallied eight points in the game.
 
Little Rock shot 40.8 percent (20-49) overall and was held to 2-14 shooting from beyond the arc. The Trojans struggled at the charity stripe, going for under 46 percent (10-22). Graduate guard Sug Williams scored a game-high 18 points, and senior forward Jordan Holman posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Trojans.
 
USI's tournament run continues Friday afternoon from Ford Center against the 2024-25 OVC regular-season champions Tennessee Tech. Tennessee Tech, who swept the regular-season matchups against USI, is coming off a double-bye and will make its tournament debut on Friday.
 
Prior to Friday's game, USI alumni and fans can join in on another pregame pep rally and celebratory lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Rooftop across from Ford Center. After lunch, fans can head over to Ford Center for the game.
 
All games from the OVC Women's Basketball Championship Tournament can be seen live with a subscription to ESPN+. 95.7 FM The Spin and 97.7 FM WREF will have radio coverage of USI contests.