CHARLESTON, Ill. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball bounced back on Saturday afternoon with a 72-63 road win at Eastern Illinois University, clinching at least a first-round bye in the upcoming Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
 
USI Women's Basketball (19-8, 13-5 OVC) finished off a season sweep of Eastern Illinois with Saturday's victory and clinched at minimum a top-four seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming OVC Tournament. Meanwhile, Eastern Illinois dropped to 4-25 overall and 3-15 in OVC play.
 
Following a tough result and shooting night on Thursday at Western Illinois University, the Screaming Eagles bounced back with a solid outing on Saturday. USI shot the ball for 46 percent (30-65) overall with six three-pointers toward a three-point percentage of 35 percent. USI went 6-8 for 75 percent at the foul line. The Eagles won the battle on the glass, 42-35, and outscored the Panthers in the paint, 42-22. Additionally, USI had 23 assists toward its 30 made field goals.
 
Senior guard Ali Saunders put together a strong performance with a game-high 26 points on 9-17 shooting overall and 6-9 from beyond the arc. Saturday was the 10^th time this season Saunders has scored 20 or more. Plus, the senior dished out a game-high eight assists for the fourth time this season. Junior forward Chloe Gannon posted her third double-double of the season with 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Junior guard Sophia Loden tallied 10 points with seven boards.
 
Eastern Illinois had two players score in double figures. The Panthers were held to just over 35 percent shooting (22-62) while going 7-22 for nearly 32 percent from long range. Eastern Illinois went 12-13 for 92 percent at the free-throw line.
 
The Screaming Eagles came out of the gates with a 9-0 start two minutes into the contest. USI shared the ball well in the first quarter, as all five starters found the scoring column quickly in the first period. With under two minutes left in the opening frame, a Saunders three-pointer put USI up by 12, 23-11. Seconds later, Saunders added to lead and reached double figures in scoring. A layup in the final seconds of the first by Gannon gave USI a 28-13 advantage through the first 10 minutes of action.
 
Eastern Illinois responded and began the second quarter with an 8-0 run to pull back within seven. Saunders twice hit a three-pointer in the early portion of the second quarter as the Panthers tried to draw closer. Eastern Illinois did climb back to make it a six-point difference, 34-28, with five minutes remaining in the first half. Saunders ended nearly a three-minute scoreless drought with another triple to reach 19 points in the first half. USI ended up with a 39-32 lead at halftime.
 
After a slow start to the game, the Panthers continued to fight to stay within striking distance in the early minutes of the second half. The Eagles went back up by double digits, 49-37, after back-to-back baskets by Gannon and Loden. Sophomore guard Lexi Sepulveda and freshman guard Lily Graves came off the bench with a couple of late baskets in the third quarter to increase USI's lead to 58-44 going to the fourth period.
 
USI's lead reached 16 early in the fourth quarter on a field goal by junior forward Amiyah Buchanan. Once again, as Eastern Illinois tried to chip away in the middle of the fourth, the Eagles responded when Loden tallied back-to-back layups to keep USI's lead at 16, 68-52, with four minutes to go. Even though the Panthers pulled back to within single digits, late free throws and a jumper by Saunders proved to be the necessary stamp to finish off the win.
 
The Screaming Eagles continue the road stretch into the final week of the regular season. USI travels to Morehead State University on Tuesday for a 4 p.m. CT contest. The game can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+.