Eagles open road schedule with loss at No. 17 Louisville
LOUISVILLE – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball was dealt a 75-51 loss by No. 17 University of Louisville on Friday night in Louisville, Kentucky, as the Screaming Eagles faced their first top-25 opponent as a Division I program to open their 2024-25 road schedule. Both teams moved to 1-1 on the season following Friday’s contest.
Southern Indiana came out from the opening tip with good looks on the offensive end. Junior guard Ali Saunders scored USI’s first five points in the opening quarter, including a triple three minutes into the game that had USI within two, 7-5. In the middle of the first, the Screaming Eagles kept it within one possession thanks to five made free throws by graduate forward Meredith Raley. Southern Indiana took its first lead, 13-12, with 3:30 left in the first on a three-pointer by senior guard Vanessa Shafford. The Eagles led 21-17 with under a minute left in the first, but Louisville closed the quarter with a 5-0 run to lead by one going into the second quarter.
The Cardinals built onto their lead with a 15-0 run to start the second period, intensifying their full-court defense and forcing turnovers. Trailing 40-21, it took six minutes before Southern Indiana snapped the drought with two unanswered baskets from sophomore forward Amiyah Buchanan and Saunders. The Eagles then turned up their defense and produced stops, holding Louisville scoreless for nearly four minutes until the Cardinals hit a three with 17 seconds left in the first half. Louisville forced USI into 11 second-quarter turnovers and held USI to only four points in the frame, leading to a 43-25 advantage for the Cardinals at halftime.
Coming out of the locker room, Louisville picked up where it left off in the second quarter by organizing a 10-0 run early in the third quarter. Raley converted a strong layup for Southern Indiana’s first points of the second half near the halfway point of the third stanza. Later, freshman guard Lexi Sepulveda provided a boost off the Southern Indiana bench, scoring a pair of layups in the last four minutes of the third. However, the Cardinals had stretched their lead to 62-36 heading to the fourth quarter.
After Louisville pushed its lead further early in the fourth quarter, Southern Indiana received two layups from post players in Raley and Buchanan. The Cardinals extended their lead to as high as 33 in the fourth, but the Screaming Eagles kept fighting down the stretch. Sepulveda scored twice on fast-break opportunities, and USI’s defense battled late with a couple of steals and taking a charge. Five unanswered points by sophomore guard Triniti Ralston in the last 40 seconds brought the Eagles to within 24, 75-51, before the final buzzer.
Southern Indiana shot 38 percent (21-56) for the game with three triples (3-15). USI went 6-12 at the charity stripe. The Eagles finished with 20 turnovers but also forced Louisville into 19 turnovers. Saunders paced USI and tied a game-high with 15 points on 7-15 shooting with four rebounds and three assists. Raley notched 10 points and four boards.
Louisville finished the game at 45 percent (29-64) from the floor with eight made threes (8-25). The Cardinals were also 50 percent (9-18) at the free-throw line. Louisville won the rebounding battle, 45-31. Graduate forward Olivia Cochran matched a game-high 15 points, and freshman guard Tajianna Roberts tallied 11 points.
The Screaming Eagles continue their road swing Tuesday at Murray State University for an 11 a.m. tipoff. The game can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+ and heard on The Spin 95.7 FM. Additional coverage can be found at usiscreamingeagles.com.
