ST. CHARLES, Mo. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball notched a gritty 71-68 road victory at Lindenwood University Sunday afternoon, completing a sweep on the opening weekend of the Ohio Valley Conference season.
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Southern Indiana moved to 2-0 in conference play and 7-5 this season, while Lindenwood went to 0-1 in the OVC and 2-9 overall. It is USI’s first 2-0 start in league action since the 2021-22 season in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. On Sunday, the Screaming Eagles joined the University of Tennessee at Martin as the only teams to start 2-0 in the OVC.
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Following the opening tip, the Eagles’ offense started efficiently from outside and inside. USI’s first two buckets came on three-pointers from junior guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) and graduate guard Tori Handley (Jeffersonville, Indiana). Just over three minutes into the contest, senior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) gave Southern Indiana an 11-6 lead after completing a three-point play with a basket and the foul. Near the three-minute mark of the first, Lindenwood knotted the game up at 15 after a third consecutive make from beyond the arc. Southern Indiana went on to take a 22-17 lead after the opening frame, as the Screaming Eagles’ pressuring defense created 14 points off nine turnovers by the Lions in the first 10 minutes.
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The back-and-forth battle continued in the second quarter, as a three-point shot helped the Lions close the five-point gap and later tie the game at 22. Minutes later, sophomore guard Ali Saunders (Depauw, Indiana) connected on her second triple of the game to slow the Lions’ momentum and put the Eagles back in front, 27-24. USI generated a five-point lead again later in the period, but Lindenwood responded, refusing to let USI create any significant separation on the scoreboard. The two squads exchanged baskets in the remaining first-half minutes with Southern Indiana taking a one-point lead, 34-33, into halftime.
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Now in their second season in the OVC, the two former GLVC foes continued to go at it out of the intermission. The game remained a one-possession contest for most of the third quarter, and the Lions grabbed their first lead before the midway point of the third. Past halfway in the quarter, Raley crossed into double figures with a layup to give USI a 43-40 advantage. With 2:20 on the clock in the period, Shafford reached a dozen points in the game on a layup that put the Eagles up by four, 48-44. However, Lindenwood kept Southern Indiana within reach, as USI maintained a four-point lead, 53-49, entering the fourth quarter.
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At the beginning of the fourth stanza, Raley took control for the Screaming Eagles. The senior scored seven consecutive points for Southern Indiana, surpassing the 20-point plateau for the second time in the last three games. Raley gave USI its largest lead of the game of seven points, 60-53, at the 7:33 mark. USI led by seven on multiple occasions in the fourth, but the Lions clawed back inside the final two minutes. Lindenwood made it a one-point game, 69-68, on a three-pointer with under a minute left. After Shafford hit two clutch free throws with 10 seconds remaining, the Lions missed two final chances to end the game.
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Southern Indiana shot an efficient 54 percent (27-50) from the floor, hitting five triples and 12 free throws. Four Screaming Eagles registered double figures scoring. Raley led all scorers with 21 points, one off her season high, with five boards. Shafford tallied 17 points and a team-best eight rebounds. For Shafford, Sunday was her 10th straight game to score 10-plus points this season, matching her best such streak from 2022-23. Senior forward Madi Webb (Bedford, Indiana) posted 12 points, and Saunders recorded a season-high 10 points and five assists.
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Lindenwood was 25-53 (47.2 percent) shooting with eight threes and 10 makes at the charity stripe. The Lions had two players score double digits. In a competitive, evenly-matched ballgame, Lindenwood tied Southern Indiana on the glass with 28 rebounds.
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The Screaming Eagles return home this week for their OVC home opener against Tennessee State University Thursday at 5 p.m. from Screaming Eagles Arena. USI will also host Tennessee Tech University Saturday at 5 p.m. Tickets for the TSU and TTU games are on sale and can be purchased by visiting the USI Ticket Office online. For more information, call the USI Ticket Office at 812-465-1189.
