University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball returns to action Thursday at 5:30 p.m. when it visits the University of Illinois Springfield. The Screaming Eagles are back at Screaming Eagles Arena Saturday at 1:05 p.m. when they host Lewis University for their annual Play4Kay game.
USI (16-6, 12-4 GLVC) brings a season-best five-game winning streak into this week’s action after earning a 70-55 win over Lindenwood University last Thursday and a 64-54 Homecoming win over the University of Missouri-St. Louis Saturday.
Freshman forward Hannah Haithcock paced USI with 18.5 points per game and is currently third on the team with 10.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest.
On the year, senior guard Ashley Johnson leads USI with 13.6 points and 3.9 assists per contest, while sophomore guard Emma DeHart is averaging 11.5 points per appearance. Sophomore forward Ashlynn Brown, who had a career-high 12 rebounds in the win over Missouri-St. Louis, is chipping in 7.0 points and a team-high 5.8 rebounds per outing.
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.
Saturday’s game is the NCAA Division II Showcase game, which will be aired live on NCAA.com as well as NCAA Division II’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
USI Women’s Basketball Notes
• Eagles run win streak to five with another two-game sweep. USI Women’s Basketball ran its win streak to a season-best five games with wins over Lindenwood (70-55) and Missouri-St. Louis (64-54). Freshman forward Hannah Haithcock averaged 18.5 points to lead the Screaming Eagles, while freshman guard Addy Blackwell chipped in 11.5 points and 3.5 steals per game. Junior guard Emma DeHart rounded out the Eagles’ double-figure scorers with 11.0 points per game.
• USI leads from start to finish. The Eagles never trailed in their win over Missouri-St. Louis. USI led by as much as 15 early in the second quarter, but saw that lead shrink to a single digit in the third frame. USI, however, outscored the Tritons 16-7 throughout the final six minutes of the game to secure the win.
• Eagles slam door on Lindenwood comeback. USI slammed the door on Lindenwood’s comeback bid Thursday night. After leading by 19 points at the break, the Eagles found themselves clinging to a 58-55 lead with just under six minutes to play. USI, though, held the Lions without a field goal for the final six minutes of the contest and scoreless for the last 5:30 of the contest as it scored 12 unanswered points to thwart the Lions’ comeback bid.
• Inside the stats. USI dominated the paint this past weekend, outscoring Missouri-St. Louis, 28-12, in the lane and Lindenwood, 40-26. The Eagles scored a combined 52 points off turnovers, including a 35-4 advantage in points off turnovers in their win over Lindenwood.
• Seniors play key roles in win. After combining for 45 points in USI’s win over Missouri S&T, senior guards Ashley Johnson, Kiara Moses and Morgan Sherwood were held in check on the scoreboard during USI’s win over Lindenwood. That doesn’t mean the trio didn’t play a big role in the win. Johnson matched a career-high with eight assists and three steals, while Moses matched her career high with eight rebounds. Sherwood also matched a career-high with seven rebounds in the win.
• Blackwell posts perfect shooting night. Freshman guard Addy Blackwell was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field and 3-of-3 from downtown as she finished with a career-high 14 points. She also had four steals in the win.
• Brown grabs career-high. Sophomore forward Ashlynn Brown grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds in USI’s win over Missouri-St. Louis. She also had seven points and two assists.
• Moses on the 8’s. Senior guard Kaira Moses had eight points and eight rebounds in the Eagles’ win over Missouri-St. Louis. She also had three assists and two steals.
• Johnson big in second half. Senior guard Ashley Johnson scored seven of her 11 points in the second half of USI’s win over Missouri-St. Louis, including five in the fourth quarter.
• Play4Kay. USI will wear its pink uniforms when it hosts Lewis Saturday as it participates in the annual Play4Kay initiative, which promotes breast cancer awareness.
• Showcase game. Saturday’s game also is the NCAA Division II Showcase game as the Eagles and Flyers will be featured on NCAA.com as well as the GLVC Sports Network and NCAA Division II’s Twitter and Facebook accounts.
• Where they stand. With two weeks and four games remaining on the 2019-20 regular-season slate, the Eagles are currently fourth in the GLVC Points Ratings System (PRS), which determines the eight participants as well as the seeding for the GLVC Tournament. The complete ratings as well as the GLVC PRS details can be found on page eight.
• In the GLVC statistical rankings. Heading into this week’s play, the Eagles currently have six players ranked among the league’s statistical leaders. Complete lists can be found on page 16.
–Addy Blackwell ranks 11th in three-point field goal percentage.
–Ashlynn Brown ranks 15th in defensive rebounds and 19th in total rebounds.
–Emma DeHart ranks 14th in steals and 26th in scoring.
–Ashley Johnson is in the top 15 of five statistical rankings, including assists (5th), steals (t5th), assist-to-turnover ratio (8th) free throw percentage (14th) and scoring (14th).
–Audrey Turner ranks 11th in blocks.
• Roaring 20s. Freshman forward Hannah Haithcock became the fourth different USI Women’s Basketball player to reach the 20-point plateau in a single game. She joins senior guards Ashley Johnsonand Kiara Moses as well as junior guard Emma DeHart in accomplishing that feat.
• 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.
• About Illinois Springfield. Sophomore guard Lauren Ladowski averages 15.0 points and 3.6 assists per game to lead the Prairie Stars, who are 9-15 overall and 4-12 in GLVC play after earning wins over Missouri S&T and Maryville this past weekend.
• About Lewis. Senior forward Rachel Hinders averages 18.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game to lead the Flyers, who are 15-9 overall and 12-4 in GLVC play after splitting last weekend’s GLVC slate. Junior guard Kaitlyn Williams contributes 10.2 points per contest for Lewis, which hosts McKendree Thursday.
• 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 600 career points;
–Ashley Johnson ranks No. 13 all-time at USI with 217 career assists and No. 43 with 622 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.
