EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball set an early tone against Lindenwood University on Saturday, soaring to a 66-43 win at Screaming Eagles Arena.
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Saturday’s win improved USI’s record to 11-14 overall and 5-9 in the Ohio Valley Conference, placing USI in a tie for seventh in the OVC standings. Lindenwood dropped to 2-20 on the season and 1-13 in the OVC.
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Saturday was USI Women’s Basketball’s annual Play4Kay game, as the team wore pink jerseys to raise cancer awareness. The Play4Kay game, which is named after the late Hall of Fame coach Kay Yow (North Carolina State), who passed away in 2009 following a 22-year battle with cancer, is the WBCA’s breast cancer awareness initiative. For more information on the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and to join the fight, go to https://wbca.org/about/kay-yow-cancer-fund.
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Saturday was also Senior Day for USI Women’s Basketball, which recognized five seniors after the contest. Guard Soffia Rieckers (Evansville, Indiana), guard/forward Lexi Thompson (Lafayette, Indiana), forward Tara Robbe (Wildwood, Missouri), forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio), and graduate forward Ashlynn Brown (Perrysburg, Ohio) were recognized after the game.
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The first quarter was a little erratic at the start on the offensive end, as both teams tried to settle into the flow of the contest. However, USI really set a tone on the defensive end, taking Lindenwood out of its comfort zone. With USI trying to get into a consistent groove offensively, one of the Screaming Eagles’ best scoring options early on was junior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana). Raley received a couple of entry passes and went up strong for two baskets within the first three minutes of the game to give USI a 6-2 lead. The Lions made a small run to tie the game in the middle of the first, but Raley scored once again, and sophomore guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) drained a three to push the Screaming Eagles back ahead, 11-6, by the end of the opening quarter.
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Southern Indiana had a strong start to the second period, as Haithcock found the basket twice within the first minute to put USI ahead, 15-6. Seconds later, Shafford swished another triple through the bottom of the net. The Screaming Eagles continued to attack the paint, earning three more buckets inside during the middle minutes of the second quarter. With under three minutes left in the first half, Raley was the first USI player to crossover into double figures after getting a nice pass from Rieckers. Raley’s score increased USI’s lead to 13, 26-13. USI maintained a 13-point advantage heading into the halftime locker room, 30-17, as Raley led USI in the first half with 12 points.
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Coming out of the break, USI continued to be relentless inside. Haithcock got the second-half scoring started for the Screaming Eagles before Raley capitalized on a three-point play. Three minutes into the third period, Haithcock hit double figures with a basket to give USI a 37-17 lead. A minute later, Shafford reached double digits on a three-pointer. Southern Indiana outscored Lindenwood 13-4 in the first five minutes of the third, taking a 43-21 advantage at the halfway point of the third period. In the latter minutes of the third, Brown joined USI’s offensive fun in the paint, scoring multiple times and even converting a three-point play to get up to eight points by the end of the quarter. USI carried a 54-32 margin into the fourth quarter.
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Brown joined her teammates in double figures, as she made a layup a minute and a half into the fourth period. USI kept adding to its lead, reaching a 26-point advantage by the midway point of the fourth. At the two-minute mark of the fourth, Rieckers, Haithcock, Brown, Thompson, and Robbe exited the game together to a standing ovation on Senior Day. USI would cruise the rest of the way.
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Haithcock led USI on the night with 19 points and nine rebounds. The senior forward moved into 12th all-time in USI scoring history, passing assistant coach Emma DeHart. Raley was second in scoring on the night for USI, posting 15 points with eight boards. Shafford scored 13 points, including three made triples. Brown tallied 10 points with seven rebounds. Brown played in her 121st career game at USI on Saturday, which is second all-time in USI history behind DeHart’s 126 games played. As a team, USI was 25-61 for 41 percent shooting, 13-17 for 76.5 percent at the line, and made three triples. Southern Indiana outrebounded Lindenwood 43-28, including 15-5 on the offensive glass which led to 26 second-chance points. USI also outscored Lindenwood 19-9 off turnovers and 40-22 in the paint.
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Lindenwood was led by graduate guard Devin Fuhring with 12 points and 10 points from sophomore guard Mary McGrath. The Lions went 16-47 for 34 percent overall, 8-14 for 57.1 percent at the stripe, and made three three-pointers.
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