EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball begins its postseason at the Ohio Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tournament this week when the Screaming Eagles take on Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 3 p.m. from Ford Center in downtown Evansville.
 
All games from the OVC Women's Basketball Championship Tournament can be seen live with a subscription to ESPN+. 95.7 FM The Spin and 97.7 FM WREF will have radio coverage of USI contests.
 
Prior to Thursday's tipoff, USI alumni and fans can join in on a pregame gathering and lunch at The Rooftop across from Ford Center from 12:30-2:30 p.m. Special guests include USI athletic staff, Archie Eagle, and the USI Cheer Team. After lunch, head over to the Ford Center for the game. Additionally, United Fidelity Bank invites USI fans with tickets to the OVC Tournament to join them in the Ford Center Corner Club Bar from 2 p.m. through halftime for complimentary appetizers, tea, water, and a cash bar.
 
USI Women's Basketball (20-9, 14-6 OVC) makes its third consecutive OVC Tournament appearance as the No. 3 seed. To conquer the tournament championship, the Screaming Eagles will have to win three games in three days after earning a first-round bye. The path to the tournament title begins with a game against seventh-seeded SIUE (16-15, 8-12 OVC) on Thursday at 3 p.m. The winner advances to face the No. 2 seed, Lindenwood University (24-7, 16-4 OVC), on Friday at 3:30 p.m. Saturday's championship game, against an opponent TBD, would be set for a 3 p.m. tipoff.
 
The Screaming Eagles are two years removed from their championship win in 2023-24 and advanced to the semifinals a year ago in 2024-25. Entering last year's tournament as the fifth seed, USI captured wins against Tennessee State University and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock before coming up short in a close battle against eventual champion Tennessee Tech University. The Eagles have a 4-1 overall record in the OVC Tournament entering Thursday.
 
USI finished the 2025-26 regular season with a 68-63 road victory at Little Rock last Saturday to conclude a four-game road stretch to end the regular season. USI went 2-2 during the four-game road stretch. The win at Little Rock clinched the third seed for the Screaming Eagles over Morehead State University, which claimed the fourth seed.
 
In the regular-season finale against Little Rock, USI had a strong start but had to fend off a comeback effort by the Trojans. The game was tied at 63 with just over a minute left to play before the Eagles scored the final five points. Senior guard Ali Saunders led USI with 25 points, while junior forward Chloe Gannon tallied 13 points and junior guard Shannon Blacher added 12 points.
 
Earlier this week, the OVC announced its postseason awards and all-conference selections. Saunders was named to the All-OVC First Team for her second all-conference honor after receiving OVC All-Newcomer Team honors in 2023-24. Gannon was selected to the All-OVC Second Team.
 
Saunders paced the team this season and was second in the OVC with 17.9 points per game. The guard also topped the squad and ranked first in the conference with 4.4 assists per game. Saunders ranked top five in the OVC with a 1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio and with 2.2 steals per contest. Shooting the ball, the senior was third in the OVC in three-point percentage (37.9 percent) with 69 made threes. Saunders was top 15 in the nation and second in the OVC with an 89.5 free-throw percentage. In conference play, Saunders recorded 19.4 points per game for second in the OVC while shooting over 37 percent from beyond the arc with an OVC-best 55 triples.
 
Gannon was top 15 in the OVC and second on the team with 13.3 points per game. The junior was also second on the team with seven rebounds per contest, which was good for seventh in the OVC. Gannon was also top 10 in the conference in field goal percentage, shooting over 46 percent from the floor. Gannon's team-best 1.2 blocks per game ranked second in the OVC. During league play, Gannon averaged 13.5 points (11^th in OVC) and 7.3 rebounds per game (7^th in OVC).
 
Junior guard Sophia Loden finished third on the team in scoring at 10 points per game and ranked seventh in the OVC with 7.1 rebounds per game. Junior guard Shannon Blacher averaged just over six points per contest with 4.4 rebounds and ranked second in the OVC with 2.6 steals per outing.
 
As a team, USI finished in the top three in the OVC in scoring offense (69.4). On the defensive side, the Screaming Eagles ranked first in the conference and among the best in the nation in scoring defense (58.3) and field goal percentage defense (37.0). USI was also the top rebounding team in the conference (40.8).
 
USI heads into the conference tournament after recording its 37^th winning season in program history, while securing its third straight season and 16^th season with at least 20 wins.
 
Tickets are $80 for all women's tournament session passes and can be purchased through the Ford Center Ticket Office. Individual session tickets are also on sale now through the Ford Center and Ticketmaster. USI students receive free tickets to all USI games at the OVC Tournament at Ford Center by showing their student ID. Student tickets can be picked up at the interior Ford Center box office an hour before game time.