EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball returns home to Liberty Arena this week to begin a season-long four-game homestand when the Screaming Eagles host Eastern Illinois University Thursday at 5 p.m. and Western Illinois University Saturday at 1 p.m. in Ohio Valley Conference play.
 
This week's games can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+ and heard on The Spin 95.7 FM and WREF 97.7 FM. Saturday's game can also be watched for free through Gray Media over-the-air outlets. In the Evansville market, Saturday's game can be seen on WFIE 14.3 Outlaw. For outside markets, check local listings for channels.
 
On Thursday, fans are encouraged to wear white USI apparel to white out Liberty Arena. There will be a free white t-shirt giveaway to the first 500 students, courtesy of Pepsi. Saturday is the Hoops for Troops Military Appreciation game, sponsored by the USI Student Veteran Association. Veterans and their guests will receive free tickets (limit to five per veteran) with proof of service. The pre-game will feature a special full-court flag presentation for the national anthem by Rolling Thunder Chapter 6, Honor Flight of Southern Indiana, and the Wounded Warrior Project.
 
USI (13-4, 7-1 OVC) enters the week tied for first place in the Ohio Valley Conference standings alongside Western Illinois (15-2, 7-1 OVC). Western Illinois visits Morehead State University on Thursday before coming to USI on Saturday.
 
The Screaming Eagles are 8-1 at home this season and has won seven in a row inside Liberty Arena. This week begins a season-long four-game homestand for the Eagles, who will host Lindenwood University and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville next week to start the second half of the OVC season.
 
Last time out, USI completed an OVC road sweep on Saturday with a 72-67 win at Tennessee State University following a 71-69 overtime win at Tennessee Tech University last Thursday. The Screaming Eagles recorded their largest comeback win of the season on Saturday at Tennessee State, coming back from an 11-point deficit to get past the Tigers. The win gave USI its third OVC weekly sweep of the season and its first win at Tennessee State since the conclusion of the 2022-23 season, which was USI's first season at the Division I level.
 
The win at Tennessee State was highlighted by senior guard Ali Saunders' 29-point outing, which is her second-best scoring output in a USI uniform behind her career-high 35 points from earlier this season at home against Morehead State. Saunders scored 23 of her 29 points in the second half. Junior guard Shannon Blacher added 14 points, junior forward Chloe Gannon tallied 10 points and 10 rebounds her second double-double of the season, and junior guard Sophia Loden notched 10 points with nine boards.
 
Between the two road games last week, Saunders averaged 26 points on nearly 52 percent shooting overall with four three-pointers and went 16-17 at the free-throw line. Saunders also averaged 5.5 rebounds, five assists, and 1.5 steals last week. On the season, Saunders leads the team in scoring and is second in the OVC at 17.6 points per game. Saunders has led USI in scoring in eight of the last 10 games, including six of the eight OVC games so far. Plus, Saunders has scored 20 or more in six of the last 10 games.
 
Loden and Gannon are averaging 12.1 and 12.0 points per game, respectively. Loden leads the team with 8.2 rebounds per game, which ranks third in the OVC, and has seven double-doubles this season. Gannon, coming off her second double-double of the year, has scored 10-plus in 12 games and in six of the last eight contests.
 
As a team, USI is averaging 70.6 points per game while limiting the opposition to 55.6 points per game. Defensively, USI's scoring defense (55.6) and field goal percentage defense (34.8 percent) rank first in the OVC and top 20 in the nation. USI is also first in the OVC with 42 rebounds per game.
 
Eastern Illinois (3-16, 2-6 OVC) is in the middle of a three-game road stretch. The Panthers began the current road swing with a 55-47 loss at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock last Thursday. Eastern Illinois' two OVC wins came in a home sweep against Tennessee Tech (January 8) and Tennessee State (January 10).
 
The Panthers are led in scoring by junior guard Ava Stoller at 12.7 points per game. Stoller is also averaging three assists per contest. Redshirt junior forward Sydney-James Desroches is second on the team in scoring with 10.4 points per outing and paces the squad with seven rebounds per game. The Panthers average 57.9 points and allow 72.3 points per outing.
 
Eastern Illinois leads the all-time series against USI, 5-3. The two sides split home wins last season. USI has won three of the last four meetings and the last two at Liberty Arena.
 
Western Illinois, who is in the midst of a four-game road stretch, heads into the week on a five-game winning streak. The Leathernecks' only losses this season are against the University of Iowa, 86-69, back on November 26 and against the University of Tennessee at Martin, 86-78, on January 1. Both setbacks were on the road. Last week, Western Illinois won 74-61 at Eastern Illinois and 75-59 at Little Rock.
 
Senior forward Mia Nicastro has led the charge for Western Illinois this season, averaging an OVC-best 24.1 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Nicastro has been named OVC Player of the Week four times this season and was recently named to the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Watch List. Junior guard Raegan McCowan is averaging 17 points per game but has not played since December 18. Senior guard Addi Brownfield is third on the team in scoring with 12.2 points per contest.
 
USI is 5-0 against Western Illinois in the series history. The Screaming Eagles won 72-58 at home last January before a 76-70 road win in Macomb, Illinois, last February. USI's first win against a D-I opponent at the Division I level came against Western Illinois in a non-conference game in November 2022.
 
Tickets for all home games at Liberty Arena can be purchased online at usiscreamingeagles.com or the USI Ticket Office.