Eagles start fast but fall to Skyhawks Thursday
MARTIN, Tenn. – Despite a fast start after the opening tip on Thursday evening, University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball fell 84-69 at the University of Tennessee at Martin to begin this week’s road trip in Tennessee.
Southern Indiana (20-10, 12-7 OVC) started Thursday’s game picking up where it left off from last week’s homestand. The Screaming Eagles scored seven unanswered points to begin the contest over the first two minutes. The lead grew to 10-2 early on thanks to a straightaway three by graduate forward Madi Webb. Fellow fifth-year senior forward Meredith Raley also drained a trey to help USI go ahead 14-8 by the first media timeout. However, UT Martin (13-17, 10-9 OVC) built a 14-0 run in the middle of the first quarter to surge in front. The two sides exchanged baskets late in the first, as UT Martin led 25-21 going to the second period.
The Skyhawks’ momentum carried over into the start of the second frame with an 8-0 run to go up 33-25. USI snapped the drought just over four minutes into the quarter when sophomore guard Sophia Loden drained a three from the top of the arc. In the back half of the second, Southern Indiana closed the gap. Junior guard Ali Saunders scored a layup and swished in a three off of two UT Martin turnovers in the last couple of minutes of the first half, helping bring USI back within four, 39-35, at halftime.
The two teams went back and forth to begin the second half. Webb knocked down a pair of field goals early in the third quarter to hit double figures for the game. The Skyhawks maintained a two-possession lead into the middle of the third. Later in the period, UT Martin connected on a few jump shots to pull ahead by 11, 58-47, before senior guard Vanessa Shafford answered with a layup to make it a nine-point deficit with under two minutes remaining in the third. Raley and Shafford scored the last two baskets of the third to make the score 60-53 in favor of UT Martin heading into the fourth quarter.
The Screaming Eagles cut into the deficit with baskets by Webb and Shafford in the early minutes of the fourth, and USI pulled back to within four points, 63-59, on a make by Loden with just over six minutes left. However, UT Martin made a string of eight consecutive field goals over a four-minute span in the back portion of the fourth quarter, making it difficult for USI to climb back in the final stretch of the contest.
Southern Indiana shot nearly 46 percent overall (28-61) and 42 percent (8-19) from beyond the arc. USI went 5-7 at the free-throw line. Webb led the Eagles with 15 points on 6-10 shooting. Raley tallied 13 points, and Saunders added 11 points with five rebounds and seven assists.
UT Martin went for 50 percent (32-64) from the floor and 38 percent (8-21) from three-point range. The Skyhawks were 12-13 for over 92 percent at the charity stripe. Junior forward Anaya Brown posted a double-double with a game-high 27 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Kenley McCarn notched 24 points for UT Martin.
Following Thursday’s results, the Screaming Eagles remained tied with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in the Ohio Valley Conference standings, as Little Rock fell on the road at Eastern Illinois University. The Panthers secured the no. 3 seed in next week’s conference tournament with the result.
Going into Saturday’s regular-season finale slate, USI needs a win and a Little Rock loss for the Eagles to grab the no. 4 seed and a first-round bye in next week’s tournament. Little Rock owns the tiebreaker over USI after the Trojans won both regular-season meetings.
The Screaming Eagles finish the road trip and the regular season Saturday at 1 p.m. against Tennessee State University from Nashville, Tennessee. Saturday’s game can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+ and heard on The Spin 95.7 FM. Additional coverage links can be found online at usiscreamingeagles.com.
