University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball hosts Lindenwood University Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and the University of Missouri-St. Louis Saturday at 1 p.m. at Screaming Eagles Arena. Saturday’s game is Homecoming for the Screaming Eagles.
The Eagles (14-6, 10-4 GLVC) have won three straight games and six of the last eight after sweeping its Great Lakes Valley Conference games last week. Senior guard Ashley Johnson averages 14.4 points and 3.8 assists per game to lead the Eagles on the year, while junior guard Emma DeHart is chipping in 11.6 points per appearance.
Freshman forward Hannah Haithcock rounds out USI’s double-digit scorers with 10.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per outing; while sophomore forward Ashlynn Brown is contributing 7.1 points and a team-high 5.6 rebounds per contest.
With three weeks and six games remaining on the Eagles’ regular-season schedule, USI plays four of its final six games at Screaming Eagles Arena.
Both games this weekend will be aired live on 95.7 The Spin and the GLVC Sports Network, while live stats, video and audio can be accessed at GoUSIEagles.com.
USI Women’s Basketball Notes
• Homecoming week for Eagles. This week is Homecoming week for the Screaming Eagles, who host Lindenwood Thursday before welcoming Missouri-St. Louis to Screaming Eagles Arena for their Homecoming game. USI has won its previous six Homecoming games.
• USI sweeps GLVC road weekend, finishes 4-game trip 3-1. USI Women’s Basketball posted a 61-54 road win over Maryville Thursday before finishing the weekend with a 79-70 road win over Missouri S&T. The Eagles finished their season-long four-game road trip with a 3-1 record.
• Last week’s leaders. Senior guard Ashley Johnson averaged 14.5 points, 2.5 assists and 3.5 steals per game to lead USI, while junior guard Emma DeHart chipped in 14.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest. Senior guard Kiara Moses also had 13.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per outing, while freshman forward Hannah Haithcock contributed 8.0 points and a team-high 8.0 rebounds per appearance.
• Eagles rally past Missouri S&T. The Eagles rallied from a six-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Missouri S&T. Moses had a career-high 21 points, seven rebounds and four steals to lead the Eagles, while Johnson and DeHart each added 16 points and three steals. USI jumped out to a commanding 19-point second-quarter lead, but Missouri S&T outscored USI 22-13 in the second period and 28-14 in the third to force the Eagles to play from behind.
• USI shrugs off slow start to top Maryville. USI overcame a slow start to defeat Maryville. After scoring just four points in the opening period, the Eagles erupted for 28 second-quarter points, turning a 13-4 deficit into a 32-23 halftime advantage. The Eagles scored nine straight points in the fourth quarter and held the Saints to just 1-of-14 shooting throughout the final 7:45 of the contest to earn the win. Johnson and DeHart each had 13 points to lead the Eagles, while Haithcock recorded her first-career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman forward Tara Robbe rounded out the Eagles’ double-figure scorers with 10 points.
• Eagles lose double-digit leads. The Eagles lost a pair of double-digit leads this past weekend. USI led Maryville by 11 in the third quarter before falling behind by a point early in the fourth quarter; while the Eagles 19-point second-quarter lead at Missouri S&T evaporated before the third quarter came to a close.
• Where they stand. With three weeks and six games remaining on the 2019-20 regular-season slate, the Eagles are currently third in the GLVC Points Ratings System (PRS), which determines the eight participants as well as the seeding for the GLVC Tournament.
• In the GLVC statistical rankings. Heading into this week’s play, the Eagles currently have three players ranked among the league’s statistical leaders.
–Emma DeHart ranks 13th in steals and 25th in scoring.
–Ashley Johnson is in the top 15 of five statistical rankings, including assists (6th), steals (6th), assist-to-turnover ratio (10th) and scoring (12th).
–Audrey Turner ranks 11th in blocks.
• Double-figures. USI has had nine different players reach double figures in the scoring column this year, with eight different players scoring at least 10 points in multiple games.
• Statistically balanced. The Eagles had six different players with at least five rebounds in their win over Missouri S&T. They also had six different players score at least five points, three different players with three assists and five different players with at least three steals. All of USI’s eight players that played against the Miners saw at least 13 minutes of action.
• Sherwood matches career high in first half. Senior guard/forward Morgan Sherwood matched a career-high when she pulled down seven rebounds in the first half of the Eagles’ win over Maryville. She previously grabbed seven rebounds in USI’s win over Southwest Baptist last month.
• About Lindenwood. Senior forward Kallie Bildner averages a team-best 21.9 points and 11.6 rebounds per game to lead the Lions (13-7, 9-5 GLVC), who have won two straight games and four of the last five. The Lions have five players averaging in double-figures and are averaging 77.2 points per game as a team.
• Previous meeting. USI got 22 points from senior guard Ashley Johnson en route to an 81-68 road win over Lindenwood less than two weeks ago. USI used a strong defensive effort to set the tone early in the contest; then got timely buckets in the second half to thwart Lindenwood’s comeback attempt. Bildner had 25 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Lions.
• About Missouri-St. Louis. Senior guard Laura Szorenyi averages 12.6 points per game to lead the Tritons (11-12, 6-8 GLVC), who had a four-game winning streak come to an end with a 63-58 road loss to Truman State Saturday. Junior forward Alex LaPorta is chipping in 11.4 points and 8.8 rebounds per game for Missouri-St. Louis, which visits McKendree Thursday.
• Previous meeting. USI was held to just 25 second-half points as it fell to Missouri-St. Louis, 72-64, two weeks ago in St. Louis. Freshman forward Hannah Haithcock had 12 points to lead the Eagles, while LaPorta had 16 points and 14 rebounds to pace the Tritons, who held a 45-33 rebounding advantage.
• Record book watch. The Eagles have two players making moves inside the USI Women’s Basketball Record Books:
–Emma DeHart ranks No. 44 all-time at USI with 578 career points;
–Ashley Johnson ranks No. 15 all-time at USI with 207 career assists and No. 43 with 609 career points.
• Magic Mark: 75 points. The Eagles are 419-77 (.845) all-time when scoring at least 75 points. USI is 292-28 (.913) since 1996-97 when reaching the 75-point plateau.
