EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball fell 72-62 against Western Illinois University at Liberty Arena on Friday night, snapping the Screaming Eagles’ five-game winning streak and eight-game home winning streak.
Friday’s setback comes following a quick turnaround from Thursday’s win against Eastern Illinois University. Friday’s contest was originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon but was moved up a day ahead of the inclement winter weather in the forecast throughout the weekend.
Friday’s game featured a battle of the top two teams in the Ohio Valley Conference standings. USI Women’s Basketball (14-5, 8-2 OVC) entered the day in sole possession of first place in the OVC standings and one game ahead of Western Illinois (16-3, 8-2). However, Friday’s result moved the Leathernecks into a first-place tie with USI.
USI was led in scoring by junior forward Chloe Gannon on Friday night following her 21-point outing on Thursday. Gannon scored 16 points with seven rebounds and four assists. Fellow junior forward Amiyah Buchanan tallied 12 points with a team-high 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season and second career double-double. Senior guard Ali Saunders finished with 10 points.
As a team, the Screaming Eagles shot for over 36 percent (22-60) from the floor with five three-pointers and went 13-14 for nearly 93 percent at the free-throw line. USI outrebounded Western Illinois 39-30.
Western Illinois, which had four players finished in double figures, was over 50 percent shooting overall (29-57) with six triples and went 8-14 for 57 percent at the foul line.
After Western Illinois jumped out to an early 6-1 lead, USI responded quickly. Saunders drained a three-pointer to tie the game up at six nearly four minutes into the game. Saunders connected on another three a few minutes later to tie the game at 11. However, Western Illinois answered with five straight points to lead 16-11 at the end of the opening frame.
The Leathernecks built a 10-point advantage two minutes into the second quarter to lead 23-13. The Screaming Eagles battled back, as freshman guard Lily Graves swished in back-to-back triples before Buchanan converted down low to help bring USI within four, 27-23, with under five minutes to go in the first half. However, Western Illinois ended the first half outscoring USI 15-4 to take a 42-27 lead into halftime.
USI and Western Illinois exchanged baskets to start the second half, as the Leathernecks led 48-33 two minutes into the second half. The Eagles tried to trim the Leathernecks’ lead, but Western Illinois maintained a double-digit lead throughout the third quarter. Late in the third, junior forward Maddy Fay provided a boost off the bench with back-to-back inside looks. Western Illinois went on to lead 61-43 through three quarters of play.
The Screaming Eagles made some noise right away in the fourth quarter with a three-point play by Gannon. A few minutes later, with USI trailing by 18, junior guard Shannon Blacher knocked down a corner three and Buchanan scored inside to force Western Illinois into a timeout and bring USI within 13, 65-52, with 6:21 remaining in the fourth. The Eagles pulled back to within single digits with just over two minutes left but could not draw any closer, as the Leathernecks closed out the game.
