EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball posted a big 67-46 victory against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Homecoming night at Liberty Arena on Saturday, closing out a four-game homestand in front of many USI Women's Basketball alumni in attendance.
With the win, USI Women's Basketball (15-6, 9-3 OVC) snapped a brief two-game skid and completed a regular-season series sweep of SIUE (10-12, 3-9 OVC). USI held SIUE to below 60 points in both regular-season wins this season, and Saturday was USI's eighth win this season holding an opponent to below 50 points.
Strong defense and a balanced attack highlighted USI's win on Saturday. Offensively, six Screaming Eagles scored 10 or more points, which has not happened in over a year since November 2024. Senior guard
Ali Saunders led the way with 12 points, and junior forward
Chloe Gannon tallied 11 points. Junior forward
Amiyah Buchanan, junior guard
Sophia Loden, junior guard
Shannon Blacher, and redshirt sophomore guard
Kylee Dennis each recorded 10 points. As a team, USI shot just over 40 percent (24-59) overall with six three-pointers and went 13-17 for over 76 percent at the free-throw line.
Defensively, the Eagles forced 21 turnovers, which led to 17 USI points, including 11 steals for USI. The Screaming Eagles held SIUE to below 30 percent (16-55) shooting from the floor with five threes. The Cougars were only 9-18 for 50 percent at the charity stripe. SIUE won the rebounding battle 45-37.
USI surged out to a quick 6-0 lead to open the contest, as Buchanan tallied four of the first six points. With the Screaming Eagles still up by six past the halfway point of the first quarter, SIUE started to find some rhythm and knock down shots. The game was tied at 15 through the first 10 minutes of action.
The Screaming Eagles flipped a switch to start the second quarter, building a 17-0 run. Gannon scored seven points in the early part of the run, while Loden added on by draining a pair of three-pointers. A layup by Buchanan finished off the run, as USI doubled up the Cougars, 30-15, with under five minutes left in the first half. The Eagles went into halftime ahead by 15, 36-21.
SIUE chipped away at USI's lead to start the second half, cutting the Screaming Eagles' advantage down to 12, 41-29, just past the seven-minute mark of the third quarter. However, Dennis provided a boost off the bench and drained a triple to put USI's lead back up to 15. A couple of minutes later, Dennis drilled another trey to reach 10 points in the contest. The Eagles led 54-37 heading into the fourth quarter.
Two minutes into the fourth period, USI's lead reached 20 points thanks to inside looks by Buchanan and Gannon. The Eagles kept the momentum a little over a minute later with a three-point play by Loden and then a fast-break layup by Blacher, putting five Screaming Eagles in double figures for the game. The Screaming Eagles' defense continued to limit SIUE, while USI's lead continued to grow. Buchanan became the sixth Screaming Eagle to reach 10 points after hitting a jumper that gave USI a 67-41 lead with three minutes to go, as USI closed out the victory.
Following Saturday's results around the Ohio Valley Conference, the Screaming Eagles moved into a tie for second place in the conference standings alongside Morehead State University with a 9-3 conference record and one game back of league-leading Western Illinois University.
On Saturday, USI Women's Basketball celebrated 50 years of excellence by welcoming back and recognizing several alumni in attendance who have contributed to the program's success over the years.
The Screaming Eagles hit the road in the coming week for a pair of OVC contests. The road swing starts Thursday at 5 p.m. when USI visits the University of Tennessee at Martin. The game can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+ and heard on The Spin 95.7 FM.
Thursday's road game at UT Martin is also scheduled to air locally over the antenna in the Evansville market on WFIE 14.3 Outlaw.
