EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball seized its fourth consecutive victory Thursday night with a 78-57 home win against Tennessee State University.
Thursday’s win gave Southern Indiana, who moved to 8-5 overall, its third Ohio Valley Conference win in three conference games played. Through Thursday’s action around the OVC, USI is currently the only team with a 3-0 start. Eastern Illinois University sits right behind USI with a 2-0 mark to begin league play. The Screaming Eagles’ 3-0 start to the OVC slate is USI’s first 3-0 start in conference play since the 2021-22 season in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Additionally, Thursday’s victory also gave the Eagles their first four-game winning streak since near the tail end of the 2021-22 season.
Southern Indiana took advantage of its first three possessions at Screaming Eagles Arena on Thursday, scoring on two triples and one basket in the paint to grab an early 8-0 lead on Tennessee State. USI also connected on its first three attempts from beyond the arc. Graduate guard Tori Handley (Jeffersonville, Indiana) jumped out with five quick points, helping USI take a 20-9 lead by the first media timeout at the 3:34 mark of the first quarter. In the last 90 seconds of the opening period, senior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) drilled two three-pointers as part of an 11-0 USI run. The Screaming Eagles led 31-11 going into the second quarter, as Southern Indiana went 11-15 from the field and forced the Tigers to cough up seven turnovers in the first.
Early in the second period, Tennessee State made a push to cut USI’s lead down to 13. Junior guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) slowed down the Tigers’ momentum by swishing in a three. Following a defensive stretch in the middle of the frame, Southern Indiana led by 15, 39-24, with 3:25 remaining in the first half. As part of another 11-0 run by the Eagles, Shafford cashed in two more treys. Raley and Shafford had a dozen first-half points each, as USI went into the locker room ahead 50-24 after holding the Tigers scoreless for the last 3:25 of the first half.
In a gradual start out of halftime, Southern Indiana doubled up Tennessee State, 52-26, before redshirt senior guard Addy Blackwell (Bloomington, Indiana) knocked down USI’s eighth three of the contest at the 7:26 mark in the third. In the middle of the third, the Eagles led by as many as 31 points, 59-28. Then Tennessee State tightened up defensively and capitalized on the offensive end with a 10-0 run to close the gap down to 19, 61-42, by the end of the third quarter.
Southern Indiana began the fourth quarter with a long-range make by Shafford, giving USI a 64-42 advantage. As the two sides continued to battle, Shafford canned her fifth triple of the game to hit the 20-point plateau and put USI up 67-46 with 6:43 remaining. Despite some fightback by the Tigers, USI went on a 9-0 run later in the period, highlighted by a three from Blackwell and Shafford. The late run gave Southern Indiana the necessary cushion to seal the win.
For the game, the Screaming Eagles were 28-57 for 49 percent shooting, featuring a season-high 12 three-pointers made. USI also connected on 10 free throws and won the rebounding battle, 41-26. Individually, Shafford poured in a career-high 26 points on 9-15 shooting and drained six of her 10 attempts from beyond the arc. Shafford also added nine rebounds. The junior guard has scored double figures in 11 consecutive games following Thursday night. Raley posted 12 points, her fourth straight outing with double digits, while freshman forward Chloe Gannon (Manchester, Tennessee) tallied 10 points.
Tennessee State (4-9, 1-2) shot just over 39 percent (21-53) from the floor with 13 made foul shots. The Tigers were held to two made threes. Junior forward Lyric Cole was the only Tiger in double figures with 10 points.
The Screaming Eagles conclude this week’s home pair of games on Saturday at 5 p.m. against Tennessee Tech University from Screaming Eagles Arena. Tickets are available for purchase online at usiscreamingeagles.com.
