EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball picked up a big victory on Senior Night, defeating Lindenwood University, 74-64, Saturday evening at Screaming Eagles Arena. The Screaming Eagles go to 14-13 overall and 7-7 in the OVC, while the Lions are 9-18, 4-10 OVC.     
    
USI moves up into a tie sixth in the OVC standing, one game out of the four-way tie for second with four games to play in the regular season. The top eight teams in the OVC advance to the league’s postseason tournament scheduled for March 1-4 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.  
 
The Eagles started slow, while the Lions got off to a quick start and had an early 18-8 lead with 13:55 left in the first half following a 10-2 run. USI closed the gap to four points, 22-18, on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Isaiah Swope (Newburgh, Indiana) with 9:41 on the clock.
 
After Lindenwood pushed its lead back to nine, 25-16, USI shrank the deficit to three points, 27-24, after a pair of free throws by senior forward Jacob Polakovich (Grand Rapids, Michigan), who had a team-best 12 points in the opening half. The three-point deficit would be as close as the Eagles would come in the first 20 minutes as the teams went into the intermission with the Lions leading 35-29.
 
The second half started very differently for the Eagles as they used an 8-2 run to knot the game at 37-37 before three minutes were gone on a Polakovich layup. USI would take its first lead since the opening bucket, 41-40, when senior guard Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) threw down a dunk at the 15:30 mark.
 
After trading buckets and leads, USI went on a 7-0 run to lead 55-48. Freshman center Kiyron Powell (Evansville, Indiana) sparked the run with an old fashion three-point play and a pair free throws that were sandwiched around a pair of charity shots by Swope to give USI its largest lead to that point (seven points).
 
Lindenwood closed the gap to 62-60 with 3:26 to play when USI spun off 10-straight points to lead by 12, 72-60, with under a minute to play. The Eagles and Lions traded free throws in the final 30 seconds before USI closed out the 74-64 victory.
 
USI had three players reach double-digits in the scoring column, led by Polakovich’s 23 points. The senior was a red hot nine-of-12 from the field and five-of-eight from the stripe, while grabbing a game-high nine boards.
 
Simmons and Swope followed with 17 points and 14 points respectively. Swop also had a game-high five assists.
 

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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
Haithcock led USI on the night with 19 points and nine rebounds. The senior forward moved into 12^th 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 121^st 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.
 
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.
 

Aces open home schedule next weekend

 

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Pitching was the story of the day for the University of Evansville softball team, who earned a 4-0 shutout win over Detroit Mercy before dropping a 2-1 game to DePaul to complete the season-opening DePaul Dome Classic on Saturday.

GAME 1 – UE 4, Detroit Mercy 0

Elle Jarrett and Erin Kleffman combined to throw a 5-hit shutout over Detroit Mercy.  The Titans out-hit the Purple Aces by a 5-4 final but it was a 3-run top of the fourth that made the difference in the game.

Efficient baserunning by Taylor Howe got UE on the board.  After drawing a leadoff walk, Howe stole second and advanced to third on a groundout by Zoe Frossard.  She would break the scoreless tie when Marah Wood reached on an error.  Wood picked up a steal of her own and pushed the lead to 2-0 on a single by Jess Willsey.  Alexa Davis picked up the third run of the frame when she tripled before coming home on a wild pitch.

An insurance run was added in the 5^th when Howe reached on a Titan error to plate Lacy Smith, who picked up a leadoff single.  From there, Kleffman held Detroit Mercy to two hits as she clinched the victory,

GAME 2 – DePaul 2, UE 1

Evansville had its first scoring opportunity in the top half of the second when Hannah Hood belted a 1-out ground rule double.  A wild pitch advanced her to third, but DePaul picked up the final two outs to keep the Aces scoreless.  Sydney Kalonihea and Jess Willsey recorded hits in the 3^rd and 4^th innings, however, the Blue Demons continued to get the timely outs.

DePaul picked up its first two hits in the 5^th and 6^th frames with Mikayla Jolly getting out of both unscathed.  Things remained scoreless as the game headed into extra innings.  International tiebreaker rules saw each team have a runner placed on second base to open the inning.  Kalonihea hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Dori Brown to give UE the lead.  The Blue Demons limited the Aces to one run and would take advantage in the bottom of the 8^th.  Back-to-back singles tied the game before DePaul scored the game-winner on a fielder’s choice.

Tri-State Orthopaedics Field at James & Dorothy Cooper Stadium officially opens on Friday when the Aces welcome Green Bay at 12:30 p.m.  UE takes on Kansas City in Friday’s second game before playing them on Saturday afternoon.  The opening home weekend comes to a close on Sunday against USI.

BOSTON, Mass. – Junior McKenna Cavanaugh (New Albany, Indiana) continues her historic campaign by breaking the University of Southern Indiana Women’s Track & Field indoor 3,000-meter record at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational Friday evening. The Screaming Eagles competed in two separate meets this weekend, sending nine runners to Allendale, Michigan for the GVSU Big Meet and three runners to Boston, Massachusetts.
 
USI at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational
Cavanaugh broke Jennifer Comastri’s 3,000-meter record by crossing the line in nine minutes, 32.07 seconds to place 71st out of 283 runners. Senior Kara Martin (Herrin, Illinois) earned 112th in the 3,000 meters with a time of 9:45.62 to crack the top five on USI’s indoor 3,000-meter record list. Rounding out for the Eagles was junior Lauren Greiwe (West Harrison, Indiana) who completed the 5,000 meters in 17:12.91 to nab 87th out of 102 runners.
 
USI at the GVSU Big Meet
The Eagles had success at the GVSU Big Meet with junior Aubrey Swart (Noblesville, Indiana) and junior Hadley Fisher (Evansville, Indiana) each earning second-place finishes in their respective heats in the 5,000 meters. Swart finished the race in 17:54.48 while Fisher crossed the line in 17:29.48.

Sophomore Kati Hoerig (Prospect, Kentucky) earned a personal-best time of 18:13.79 in the 5,000 meters to place seventh in heat five. Also securing a personal record was sophomore Audrey Comastri (Indianapolis, Indiana) who finished in 13th place in the mile with a time of 5:02.21.
 
NEXT UP FOR THE EAGLES:
The Eagles complete the regular indoor season Saturday, February 18 when USI competes in the ISU Open, hosted by Indiana State University. This will be the final meet until the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Championships which are slated for February 22-23 in Birmingham, Alabama.
 

MATTOON, Ill. – The No. 9-ranked Vincennes University Trailblazers bounced back in a big way after Wednesday’s defeat, going on the road at Lake Land College and coming away with the 97-69 victory.

VU broke free first midway through the first half Saturday with a 10-0 scoring run to take a 27-13 lead over the host Lakers.

The Trailblazers lead would grow to as many as 20 in the first half as VU headed into the halftime break with a 49-30 advantage.

Vincennes would continue to build on this early momentum in the second half by picking up where they left out by scoring the first eight points of the second half to take a 27-point lead.

Lake Land would get back within 24, but were unable to close the margin, even after a late 8-0 Lakers run, VU pulled away late to pick up a very strong 97-69 road Region 24 victory.

“I just thought we played pretty hard,” VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. “When we cut harder and move the ball harder we are going to be effective offensively. We are an inside-out team and we are a ball movement team. I think we’ve worked really hard to cultivate a style and then put the fundamentals and things that are going to fit this team.”

“After putting this new team together, it’s taken us a little bit of time,” Franklin added. “But I think right now, we’ll play with some confidence and trust what we do, I think we’ll be very successful at the offensive end. When we have our problems, it’s because we don’t move or cut and trust. Today I thought we did a better job of those things and you see the result.”

VU was led offensively by freshman Michael Osei-Bonsu (Bolingbrook, Ill.) who finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds to record his fifth double-double of the season and fifth straight game of recording 13 or more rebounds.

Freshman Kris King (Washington, D.C.) came off the bench to record 18 points, five rebounds and five assists, including hitting three first half three’s.

Sophomore Caleb Johnson (N. Preston, Nova Scotia) continued his streak of scoring in double-figures to 20 games after scoring 13 on just six shots, five assists and three rebounds.

Sophomore Trenton Johnson (South Bend, Ind.) came on strong late, scoring all of his 13 points in the second half, hitting five of his six shots, including three three’s.

Freshman Ryan Oliver (Antioch, Tenn.) ended his day with eight points, four rebounds and three assists, while fellow freshman Victor Lado (Louisville, Ky.) came off the bench and had a perfect day from the field, hitting both of his shots and all three free throw attempts for seven points.