University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball hosts preseason No. 8-ranked Ashland University in a key Midwest Region contest Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Screaming Eagles Arena.
Following the Thanksgiving break, the Screaming Eagles host the University of Indianapolis Monday at 5:30 p.m. to begin their Great Lakes Valley Conference schedule.
Tickets can be purchased in advance for both games at GoUSIEagles.com, while both contests 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
• USI Women’s Basketball picks up two regional wins. The Screaming Eagles carded a pair of Midwest Region wins against GLIAC competition last week, including an 86-59 home-opening win over Davenport last Tuesday and a 65-64 road win over Saginaw Valley State.
• Last week’s leaders. Sophomore forward Meredith Raley averaged 17.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest, while fifth-year senior guard Ashley Hunter chipped in 16.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per appearance. Junior forward Hannah Haithcock averaged 13.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per outing, while junior guard Addy Blackwell added 5.5 points and 5.0 assists per contest. Fifth-year senior guard Emma DeHart contributed 3.0 steals per game, while senior forward Ashlynn Brown had 1.0 blocks per outing.
• Season Leaders. Haithcock averages 13.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game to lead the Eagles, while Hunter and Raley are averaging 12.5 and 11.0 points per game, respectively. Blackwell and DeHart respectively lead the Eagles with 3.0 assists and 2.3 steals per game, while Haithcock and Brown are each averaging 0.5 blocks per appearance.
• Blackwell, Raley notch career highs. Blackwell dished out a career-high seven assists in USI’s win over Saginaw Valley State, while Raley had a career-high 18 points in the victory.
• Haithcock enters Top 50 in scoring. Haithcock cracked USI Women’s Basketball’s Top 50 in the scoring column during USI’s win over Saginaw Valley State. She is currently tied for No. 49 with 531 career points.
• Milestones on the horizon. The Eagles are just two wins shy of their 700th win in program history, while USI Head Coach Rick Stein is just nine wins shy of his 400th win.
• Forcing the issue. USI is making opposing offenses a tad bit uncomfortable in the first four games as the Eagles are forcing their opposition into an average of 22.0 turnovers per contest.
• DeHart to play in 100th career game. DeHart played in her 100th career game for the Eagles in USI’s win over Davenport. She has started 74 of USI’s last 76 games.
• 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.
• Welcome back. The Eagles played in front of fans last weekend for the first time since March 5, 2020; and welcomed fans back into Screaming Eagles Arena for a women’s basketball game for the first time since February 29, 2020, when they hosted Davenport last week in their home-opener. USI played all of 2020-21 without the presence of fans.
• Roaring 20s. DeHart reached the 20-point plateau four times last year, while Haithcock and Hunter each had one 20-point effort under their belts.
• Double-figures. USI has already had six different players reach double-figures in the scoring column this year, including three players that 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 Ashland. The Eagles are 3-0 following an 80-79 road win over Lewis this past Saturday. Junior forward Annie Roshak averages 24.3 points and 5.3 rebounds pe game to lead Ashland, which was the Midwest Region finalist a year ago. Ashland, a member of the GLVC from 1984-96, is in its first year as a member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference after spending the previous 25 years playing in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
• Record book watch. The Eagles have one player 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 (355), No. 11 in made three-pointers (110) and No. 21 in points (932). DeHart is 13 points away from matching Penny Dietz for 20th and is vying to become the 19th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
–Hannah Haithcock is tied for No. 49 on USI’s all-time scoring list (531).
• Magic Mark: 75 points. The Eagles are 424-78 (.845) all-time when scoring at least 75 points. USI is 297-29 (.911) since 1996-97 when reaching the 75-point plateau.
