USI Women’s Basketball Hosts Kentucky Christian Friday
EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball hosts NAIA opponent Kentucky Christian University Friday at 6 p.m. at Screaming Eagles Arena.
The Screaming Eagles (6-1) have won five straight games and will be facing an NAIA opponent for the first time since 2018-19 when they tip-off against the Knights (6-5) Friday evening.
Friday’s game is open to spectators, though masks are currently required.
Tickets can be purchased in advance for Friday’s game at GoUSIEagles.com, while the game will be aired live on 95.7 The Spin as well as the GLVC Sports Network. Live stats, audio, and video links also can be accessed on GoUSIEagles.com.
USI Women’s Basketball Notes
• DeHart is closing in on 1,000 points. Fifth-year senior guard Emma DeHart is just 21 points shy of becoming the 19th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. DeHart currently ranks No. 20 all-time at USI with 979 career points.
• Eagles open GLVC play with two wins. USI Women’s Basketball began league plays with a pair of wins against the GLVC East Division competition. The Eagles began the week with a 79-62 win over Indianapolis at Screaming Eagles Arena before dropping Illinois Springfield, 98-85, three days later in Springfield, Illinois. USI had seven different players score at least seven points in both wins, while eight different players had at least five points in the win over Illinois Springfield.
• Last week’s leaders. Five different players averaged double-figures for the Eagles last week, with a sixth player—junior guard Addy Blackwell—averaging 9.5 points per appearance. Fifth-year senior guard Emma DeHart averaged 17.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.0 steals per game to lead the Eagles, while junior forward Hannah Haithcock chipped in 13.5 points to go along with a team-high 7.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per contest.
Freshman guard Vanessa Shafford contributed 12.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, while senior forward Ashlynn Brown and sophomore forward Meredith Raleyrespectively added 11.0 and 10.5 points per outing. Blackwell led USI with 4.0 assists per game.
• Season Leaders. Haithcock averages 12.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game to lead the Eagles, while Raley and DeHart are averaging 10.9 and 10.6 points per game, respectively. Brown and fifth-year senior Ashley Hunter are respectively averaging 9.9 and 9.3 point per outing, while Blackwell is chipping in 7.9 points and a team-high 3.1 assists per appearance. DeHart leads USI with 2.7 steals per game.
• Big leads. The Eagles have jumped out to leads of at least nine points in each of their first seven games and have had no less than a 17-point cushion represent its largest lead in six of their first seven contests.
• Eagles open GLVC play with 700th win. USI picked up its 700th win with their 79-62 victory over Indianapolis last Monday. The Eagles are 701-546 all-time in 46-plus years of existence.
• Stein closing in on 400. USI Head Coach Rick Stein, who’s been on the sidelines for 553 of USI’s 701 wins as an assistant and head coach, is just six wins away from his 400th career victory.
• Forcing the issue. USI is making opposing offenses uncomfortable in the first six games as the Eagles are forcing their opposition into an average of 21.9 turnovers per contest. They are converting their opponent’s offensive miscues into an average of 23.0 points per game.
• USI picked to win East Division again. The Eagles were picked to repeat as GLVC East Division champions in 2021-22. USI won the East Division title last season, marking the third consecutive season when the league has been split into divisions that the Eagles have captured the East Division title.
• Double-figures. USI has already had seven different players reach double-figures in the scoring column this year, all of whom have scored 10-or-more points in multiple games. The Eagles had nine different players reach double-figures in the scoring column last year, with eight players having had 10-or-more points in multiple games.
• About Kentucky Christian. The Knights, who are counting Friday’s contest as an exhibition, are 6-5 overall and 4-3 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference entering their game at Indiana-Southeast Wednesday night. Sophomore forward Jenna Blakley averages 12.4 points per game to lead the Knights, while sophomore guards Jasmine Flowers and Anna Keeton are chipping in 11.9 and 11.5 points per game, respectively.
• Record book watch. The Eagles have two players making moves inside the USI Women’s Basketball Record Books:
–Emma DeHart ranks No. 7 on USI’s all-time list for three-point field goal attempts (363), No. 11 in made three-pointers (111) and No. 20 in points (979). DeHart is 19 points away from matching Deb Pope for 19th and is vying to become the 19th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
–Hannah Haithcock is No. 45 on USI’s all-time scoring list (568).
• Magic Mark: 75 points. The Eagles are 426-78 (.845) all-time when scoring at least 75 points. USI is 299-29 (.912) since 1996-97 when reaching the 75-point plateau.