University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball begins its busiest stretch of the year Thursday at 5:30 p.m. when it travels to Kansas City, Missouri, to take on Rockhurst University in a Great Lakes Valley Conference tilt. The Screaming Eagles also visit league-member William Jewell College Saturday at 1 p.m. in Liberty, Missouri.
Both games this weekend will be aired on 95.7 The Spin as well as the GLVC Sports Network, while live stats, audio and video can be accessed at GoUSIEagles.com.
USI (7-4, 3-2 GLVC), which is coming off a tough 66-45 home loss to arch-rival Bellarmine University this past Saturday, is slated to play five games in a 10-day stretch. The Screaming Eagles also host McKendree University Monday at 5:30 p.m. before hosting Truman State University January 23 and Quincy University January 25.
The Eagles’ contest with Quincy is Military Appreciation Day at Screaming Eagles Arena and free tickets and give-a-ways will be provided for military veterans and current service members.
Leading the Eagles into the weekend is senior guard Ashley Johnson, who is averaging a team-high 13.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Emma DeHart is chipping in 11.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, while sophomore forward Ashlynn Brown is contributing 8.5 points and a team-high 5.2 rebounds per contest.
USI also is getting 9.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per appearance from freshman forward Hannah Haithcock.
USI Women’s Basketball Notes
• Eagles go 1-1 for second straight week. USI Women’s Basketball settled on a split to GLVC play last week. USI rallied from double-digit deficits on a pair of occasions to defeat host Indianapolis, 75-64, Thursday before cold shooting and turnovers led to a 66-45 home loss to arch-rival Bellarmine Saturday.
• Last week’s leaders. Senior guard Ashley Johnson averaged 16.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game to lead the Eagles last week. Junior guard Emma DeHart added 11.5 points per game, while freshman forward Hannah Haithcock chipped in 10.5 points and a team-high tying 5.5 rebounds per game. USI also got 5.5 rebounds per outing from sophomore forward Ashlynn Brown.
• Cold shooting. USI was held to 31.0 percent (18-58) from the field and a season-low 14.3 percent (3-21) from downtown in its loss to Bellarmine Saturday. The 45 points the Eagles were held to marked their lowest point total since losing, 60-42, to Truman State January 16, 2016.
• Anomaly? How much of an anomaly was it to see the Eagles commit 23 fouls and 23 turnovers in a game? Consider that USI entered Saturday’s game against Bellarmine ranked No. 2 in the GLVC in fewest fouls and fewest turnovers. The Eagles ranked 11th, nationally, in fewest fouls and 15th in fewest turnovers.
• Eagles score 49 in second half against UIndy. The Eagles scored 49 second-half points in their win over Indianapolis. USI, which had 16 first-half turnovers, did a much better job of taking care of the ball in the final 20 minutes as it had just five offensive miscues in the second half.
• Busy slate. USI’s game against Rockhurst begins a busy stretch for the Eagles, who are slated to play five games in a 10-day span. The Eagles already have some experience with such a stretch after playing five games in 11 days earlier this season.
• Double-figures. USI has had eight different players reach double figures in the scoring column this year, with seven different players scoring at least 10 points in multiple games.
• Johnson, Haithcock lead USI against Bellarmine. Senior guard Ashley Johnson had a team-high 13 points to lead the Eagles in their loss to Bellarmine, while freshman forward Hannah Haithcock added 12 points and six rebounds. Sophomore forward Ashlynn Brown contributed eight rebounds.
• Johnson posts career highs. Less than a week after recording USI’s first double-double of the year with 17 points and 10 rebounds against Southwest Baptist, Johnson was at it again in USI’s win over Indianapolis. Johnson, who had 15 points and six assists in the second half alone, finished the game with a career-high eight assists as well as a career-high tying five steals. She had 18 of her game-high 20 points in the final 20:05 of the game after hitting a three-pointer to end the first half.
• DeHart matches career high. Junior guard Emma DeHart had a career-high tying 19 points in USI’s win over Indianapolis. She had eight points in the second quarter and nine in the third period, helping USI overcome both of its double-digit deficits in the process.
• Sherwood big in second half. Senior guard/forward Morgan Sherwood scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half of USI’s come-from-behind win over Indianapolis. She had a huge four-point play in the third period and another big three-pointer late in the fourth quarter.
• Brown throws block party. Sophomore forward Ashlynn Brown had six points and a career-high four blocks in USI’s win over Indianapolis.
• Haithcock puts in big minutes. Freshman forward Hannah Haithcock logged some serious minutes in USI’s win over Indianapolis. She finished with nine points and five rebounds in a season-high 36 minutes of work. She previously played 35 minutes in USI’s win over Southwest Baptist.
• Moses matches Johnson for team-high rebound number. Senior guard Kiara Moses matched fellow classmate Ashley Johnson for the team lead with six rebounds in USI’s win over Indianapolis. She also had four points and a pair of steals in the win.
• About Rockhurst. Senior guard Madeline Ronshausen averages 15.2 points per game to lead Rockhurst, which enters the week with an 8-5 overall record and a 2-3 mark in GLVC play. Sophomore guard Meghan Urbanski and freshman guard Paige Pendley are chipping in 10.8 and 10.2 points per game, respectively, for the Hawks, who have won two straight games.
• About William Jewell. Junior forward Kiara Bradley averages 16.0 points and 6.7 rebounds to lead the Cardinals, who are 5-8 overall and 1-4 in GLVC play. William Jewell, which hosts McKendree Thursday, has lost five straight games entering this week’s action.
• About McKendree. Senior guard Jordan Heberg averages 14.5 points per game to lead the Bearcats, who have lost four straight games to fall to 7-6 overall and 0-5 in GLVC play.
• About Truman State. Truman State, an NCAA II Tournament team a year ago, is 9-3 overall and 5-0 in GLVC play. Led by senior guard Sloane Totta (12.1 ppg, 5.2 apg), the Bulldogs have four players averaging in double-figures and five averaging at least 9.5 points per contest. Sophomore forward Maddie Re is chipping in 9.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per outing.
• About Quincy. Junior guard Aleksandra Petrovic averages 12.7 points per game to lead the Hawks, who are 5-8 overall and 1-4 in GLVC play.
• Screaming Eagles Arena. The Eagles’ game against Central Missouri marked the first-ever regular-season basketball game in Screaming Eagles Arena. USI Women’s Basketball played in the Physical Activities Center from 1980-81 to 2018-19, posting a 363-194 record all-time at the PAC, including a 217-81 record under Head Coach Rick Stein.
• Magic Mark: 75 points. The Eagles are 415-77 (.844) all-time when scoring at least 75 points. USI is 288-28 (.911) since 1996-97 when reaching the 75-point plateau.
