University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball begins Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament play Thursday at noon when the No. 2 seeded Screaming Eagles take on the No. 7 seeded Bellarmine University Knights in the opening round at SIU Edwardsville’s First Community Arena in Edwardsville, Illinois.
All of USI’s games this week will be aired live on 95.7 The Spin as well as the GLVC Sports Network, while live stats, audio, video and ticket information can be at GoUSIEagles.com.
The Eagles (18-8, 14-6 GLVC) ended the regular-season by winning seven of their final nine games, including an 81-64 win over the University of Indianapolis this past Saturday at Screaming Eagles Arena. Freshman forward Tara Robbe finished with a career-high 21 points and eight rebounds, while junior guard Emma DeHart chipped in 15 points as the Eagles ended a two-game skid.
One of those two losses came at the hands of USI’s opponent Thursday. Bellarmine coupled a fast start and slow USI start to run away with an 80-49 win last Thursday at Knights Hall to complete the regular-season sweep.
Freshman forward Hannah Haithcock had a team-high 14 points in the loss last week and leads USI with 13.0 points per game in the two meetings with the Knights this season. Senior guard Ashley Johnson is averaging 11.0 points and 3.5 assists per game against Bellarmine this year, while sophomore forward Ashlynn Brown has averaged 5.5 rebounds per game against Bellarmine.
On the year, Johnson is averaging a team-high 13.6 points, 3.9 assists and 2.3 steals per game, while DeHart and Haithcock are respectively chipping in 11.2 and 10.9 points per game. Brown leads USI with 5.9 rebounds per appearance.
USI Women’s Basketball Notes
• Eagles end regular-season with Senior Day win. USI Women’s Basketball snapped a two-game skid to end the regular-season on a positive note. The Eagles rallied from an early six-point, second-quarter deficit to roll past Indianapolis, 81-64, on Senior Day. Freshman forward Tara Robbe had a career-high 21 points and eight rebounds, while junior guard Emma DeHart chipped in 15 points. USI’s senior class—guards Ashley Johnson and Kiara Moses and guard/forward Morgan Sherwood—combined for 23 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists and seven steals.
• Seniors honored. USI honored Johnson, Moses and Sherwood during its Senior Day festivities at the conclusion of its game against Indianapolis. The trio has combined to play 247 games during their NCAA careers, making 82 starts and racking up 4,326 minutes of playing time, 1,341 points, 609 rebounds, 390 assists, 252 steals and 39 blocks.
• Eagles start week on bad note. A slow start led to an 80-49 setback to host Bellarmine Thursday. Freshman forward Hannah Haithcock paced the Eagles with 14 points, while Moses had a team-high six rebounds. Johnson finished with nine points and a team-best four assists. USI missed its first nine shots and trailed 16-0 as Bellarmine made good on 7-of-8 to start the game.
• Go figure. USI turned out its best shooting performance (34-74, .459) of the last four games in its 81-64 win over an Indianapolis team that ranks first in the GLVC in opponent field goal percentage. USI had struggled from the field (66-183, .361) during the previous three games, particularly in the first quarter, where they shot just 24.4 percent (11-45) from the field in the first 10 minutes.
• Last week’s leaders. Robbe and Haithcock led the Eagles with a respective 12.5 and 11.0 points per game. Johnson averaged 5.0 assists per game, while Moses led USI with 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game.
• Eagles earn No. 2 seed in GLVC Tournament. With a GLVC Points Rating System (GTPRS) of 3.83, the Eagles earned the No. 2 seed in the GLVC Tournament and are making their eighth straight appearance in the league’s post-season dance. Drury (4.58) grabbed the No. 1 seed, while Lewis (3.80) is the No. 3 seed based on its head-to-head win over No. 4 Truman State (3.80). Lindenwood (3.68) is the No. 5 seed, while Indianapolis’s (3.35) sweep of Bellarmine (3.35) secured the No. 6 seed for the Hounds. Maryville (3.20) is the No. 8 seed.
• We meet again, at long last! Ok, maybe not that long. USI and Bellarmine are meeting for the third time this year and the second time in a week when they square off against each other in the opening round of the GLVC Tournament. Thursday’s game is a rematch of last year’s GLVC Tournament first-round matchup, in which the then No. 6 seeded Knights defeated the then No. 3 seeded Eagles, 68-57. Interestingly, Thursday’s game is just the fourth time in 78 meetings that the two rivals have met in the post-season and just the third time they have faced each other in the GLVC Tournament.
• Eagles ranked in region. USI slipped one spot to No. 7 in the latest NCAA II Midwest Region ranking. The Eagles are one of five GLVC teams in the rankings, which can be found on page 14 of the printable notes. The final ranking is due out March 4.
• In the GLVC statistical rankings. Entering the GLVC Tournament, the Eagles currently have six players ranked among the league’s statistical leaders. Complete lists can be found on page 22 of the printable notes.
–Ashlynn Brown ranks 13th in defensive rebounds, 14th in blocks and 17th in total rebounds.
–Emma DeHart ranks 19th in minutes played and tied for 27th in scoring.
–Hannah Haithcock ranks 28th in minutes played and 30th in scoring.
–Ashley Johnson is in the top 16 of six statistical rankings, including steals (5th), assists (5th), assist-to-turnover ratio (11th), free throw percentage (13th), scoring (15th) and minutes played (15th).
–Kiara Moses ranks 10th in steals.
–Audrey Turner ranks 12th in blocks.
• Roaring 20s. Freshman forward Tara Robbe became the fifth different USI Women’s Basketball player to reach the 20-point plateau in a single game. She joins senior guards Ashley Johnson and Kiara Moses as well as junior guard Emma DeHart and freshman forward Hannah Haithcock in accomplishing that feat.
• Double-figures. USI has had nine different players reach double figures in the scoring column this year, with eight different players scoring at least 10 points in multiple games.
• About Bellarmine. Junior guard Breia Torrens averages 13.3 points per game to lead the Knights (17-10, 12-8 GLVC), who ended the year by winning two straight games and six of their last seven. Torrens averaged a team-high 19.5 points per game against USI this year. USI vs. Bellarmine stats on page 13.
• Rough two-quarter stretch. Counting the fourth quarter of USI’s game against Lewis and the first quarter of its game against Bellarmine, the Eagles’ defense gave up a combined 56 points. USI’s opposition went a combined 17-of-22 (.773) from the field and 10-of-11 (.909) from three-point range during the 20-minute stretch.
• Record book watch. The Eagles have two players making moves inside the USI Women’s Basketball Record Books:
–Emma DeHart ranks No. 44 all-time at USI with 638 career points;
–Ashley Johnson ranks No. 11 all-time at USI with 233 career assists, No. 14 with 148 steals and tied for No. 40 with 675 career points.
• Magic Mark: 75 points. The Eagles are 419-77 (.845) all-time when scoring at least 75 points. USI is 292-28 (.913) since 1996-97 when reaching the 75-point plateau.
