EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball tips off its third consecutive appearance in the Postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) Monday at 6 p.m. when the Screaming Eagles welcome George Washington University to Liberty Arena for a second-round matchup.
 
Tickets to Monday's game are on sale at usiscreamingeagles.com and through the USI Ticket Office. Tickets are only $10 for Monday's second-round game. Fans should wear their USI spirit gear to support the Screaming Eagles.
 
Monday's game can be seen live with a subscription to ESPN+. 95.7 FM The Spin and 97.7 FM WREF will have radio coverage.
 
The 2026 Postseason WNIT features a 48-team field. This marks the 28th edition of the Postseason WNIT, powered by Triple Crown Sports and first held in 1998. The tournament field is made up of automatic qualifiers and at-large programs, flexing a mix of Power 4 conferences as well as ascending mid-major programs. All games are played at individual schools.
 
USI Women's Basketball (21-10, 14-6 OVC) followed its WNIT debut in 2023-24 with an appearance in the WNIT Super 16 last season in 2024-25. In last year's edition, USI earned a first-round bye, defeated Campbell University by a score of 60-51 in the second round, and fell in the Super 16 against the University at Buffalo by a score of 76-64. USI is 2-2 over the last two seasons in the WNIT, having hosted all four games.
 
USI takes the court for the first time in over two weeks since its semifinal game against Lindenwood University in the Ohio Valley Conference Women's Basketball Championship Tournament. The Screaming Eagles reached at least the semifinal round of the OVC Tournament for the third consecutive year. USI hits the hardwood at Liberty Arena for the first time in over a month, as the Screaming Eagles concluded their regular-season home schedule against Tennessee Tech University on February 14.
 
Coming off its third-straight OVC Tournament berth as the No. 3 seed, USI defeated seventh-seeded Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in the quarterfinals, 72-44, before coming up short in the semifinals against No. 2 seed Lindenwood, 82-79.
 
At the conclusion of the OVC Tournament, senior guard Ali Saunders was named to the OVC All-Tournament Team for the second time in her career. Saunders posted 39 points, averaging 19.5 per game, on nearly 45 percent shooting overall and 67 percent from three while also averaging six rebounds and 10 assists in USI's two games in the tournament.
 
Saunders' selection was highlighted by scoring 30 points and dishing out a career-high 14 assists in USI's semifinal matchup against Lindenwood. Between the 30 points scored and 14 assists in the double-double effort, Saunders ended up being involved and impacting 59 of USI's 79 total points in that game. Saunders became the first Screaming Eagle with at least three 30-point games in a season since Jessica Stuckman during the 2001-02 campaign, and the 14 assists tied the program's single-game assists record with Adrienne Seitz in 1999.
 
On the season, Saunders leads the team in scoring at 18 points per game. Junior forward Chloe Gannon is second in scoring with 13.4 points per contest. During the OVC Tournament, Gannon totaled 30 points for an average of 15 points per game. Gannon has scored 10-plus in 26 games this season and in 16 straight games.
 
At the end of the regular season, the Ohio Valley Conference announced Saunders was named All-OVC First Team, and Gannon was named All-OVC Second Team.
 
As a team, USI had a top-three scoring offense in the OVC (69.8) while pacing the OVC in scoring defense (58.6).
 
USI recorded its 37th winning season in program history. USI also secured its 16th season with at least 20 wins. USI has won 20-plus games for the third season in a row.
 
George Washington (16-17, 7-11 A-10) advanced to face the Screaming Eagles on Monday after defeating Bradley University, 63-60, in the WNIT first round on Thursday. After trailing at halftime, the Revolutionaries rallied in the second half to win by three. Before its WNIT opener, George Washington fell in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament against the University of Dayton, 62-54.
 
Thursday's win was George Washington's first postseason victory since 2014, as George Washington is competing in the postseason for the first time since 2018 and first time in the WNIT since 2017.
 
The Revolutionaries are led in scoring by sophomore guard Gabby Reynolds with 14.1 points per game. Reynolds had a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds in Thursday's first-round game against Bradley. Junior forward Sara Lewis is second on the team in scoring at 10.8 points per contest. Lewis had 11 points against Bradley.

George Washington is averaging just over 60 points on offense and 60 points allowed on defense.
 
Monday will be the first-ever meeting between Southern Indiana and George Washington.
 
The winner of Monday's game between USI and George Washington will face the winner of Loyola University Chicago and Florida Gulf Coast University, which also play Monday evening at 6 p.m. CT.

Here's the 2026 schedule for each round:
Round 1 - March 19-21, 2026
Round 2 - March 22-24, 2026
Super 16 - March 25-27, 2026
Great 8 - March 28-30, 2026
Fab 4 – March 31-April 1, 2026
Championship - Saturday, April 4, 2026 at 3 p.m. ET
 
Fans can follow the 2026 Postseason WNIT through X/Twitter (@WomensNIT), Facebook (womensNIT), and the hashtag #WNIT.
 
Stay tuned to usiscreamingeagles.com and @USIAthletics on social media for more information.