EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball heads back to the state of Tennessee for the third time this season later this week when the Screaming Eagles travel to face Tennessee Tech University on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and at Tennessee State University on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Ohio Valley Conference play.
Both games this week can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+ and heard on The Spin 95.7 FM.
USI Women's Basketball (11-4, 5-1 OVC) enters Thursday's action a half game back of first place in the Ohio Valley Conference standings behind Western Illinois University, which defeated Eastern Illinois University on Tuesday night.
USI is coming off a homestand sweep last week inside Liberty Arena, defeating Southeast Missouri State University, 77-46, and the University of Tennessee at Martin, 52-43. Prior to the two home wins, the Screaming Eagles split its last OVC road swing with a win at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, 70-55, before a 75-65 loss at Lindenwood University. The Eagles are 3-3 on the road this season and now 4-1 overall on the year against teams from the state of Tennessee.
The Screaming Eagles completed last week's homestand sweep with the win against UT Martin on Saturday, which was USI's seventh consecutive home victory. In a defensive contest, USI held UT Martin to 26 percent shooting overall and below 20 percent from beyond the arc. USI scored 19 total points off turnovers, with the Eagles' first 15 points of the game coming off UT Martin turnovers.
Junior guard
Shannon Blacher, who has been known for her defensive prowess with an OVC-best 2.9 steals per game, led all scorers on Saturday with a career-high 20 points on 7-11 shooting overall and going 4-8 from three-point range. The four made three-pointers were also a career best for Blacher. Meanwhile, junior guard
Sophia Loden posted her seventh double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the second consecutive outing.
Overall, this season, senior guard
Ali Saunders leads the team and is third in the OVC in scoring at 16.4 points per game. During league play, Saunders is second in the conference with 19.7 points per game after having scored in double figures in five of six conference games so far and three conference outings with 20 or more points. Loden is second on the team in overall scoring with 12.2 points per contest and just ahead of junior forward
Chloe Gannon at an even dozen points per game.
Collectively, USI is third in the OVC in scoring offense at 70.5 points per outing, while USI's scoring defense ranks first in the conference and top-15 in the nation at 54 points allowed per contest. The Eagles have limited opponents to below 60 points in all 11 wins and even under 50 points in seven wins.
Tennessee Tech (10-5, 3-3 OVC) heads into Thursday's tilt against USI coming off three straight road losses. Last week, the Golden Eagles fell by one, 75-74, last Thursday at Eastern Illinois before a 77-60 loss at Western Illinois on Saturday. Tennessee Tech started conference play with three wins in a row and six overall consecutive victories before the recent three-game skid. Tennessee Tech returns home this week with a 9-0 home record on the year.
Senior guard Reghan Grimes leads four Golden Eagles averaging double figures in scoring this season. Grimes is pacing the team with 14.7 points per game. Sophomore guard Chloe Larry and graduate guard Reagan Hurst are second and third, respectively, at 12 and 11.9 points per game, while senior guard Cam Mathews is averaging 10.6 points per contest. Tennessee Tech averages 68.1 points as a team while surrendering 62.3 points per game.
Tennessee Tech leads the all-time series against USI, 5-2. The Screaming Eagles seek to avenge last season's results against the Golden Eagles, as Tennessee Tech won all three meetings last year that included a semifinal win in the OVC Tournament.
Tennessee State (2-13, 1-5 OVC) enters this week's action on the heels of four straight losses. The Tigers dropped its set last week against Western Illinois, 76-59, and against Eastern Illinois, 71-45. Tennessee State's last win was a home conference triumph against Southeast Missouri, 76-72, on December 20. The Tigers host Morehead State University on Thursday morning before welcoming USI on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers are led in scoring by senior guard Aaniya Webb, who is averaging 10.4 points per game. Webb tallied 11 points in each game last week against Western Illinois and Eastern Illinois. As a team, the Tigers are scoring 58.3 points while giving up 78.5 points per game.
USI is 4-3 in the all-time series against Tennessee State. The Screaming Eagles defeated the Tigers in the first round of the OVC Tournament last season, 90-66. In last year's regular-season matchups, the two sides split home wins. USI won 74-56 at Liberty Arena last December, while Tennessee State won 73-64 in Nashville to conclude the regular-season schedule last March.
Following this week's trip to Tennessee, the Screaming Eagles will return home to Liberty Arena for the start of a season-long four-game homestand next week. The homestand will stretch over the next two weeks until the end of January.
