DEKALB, Ill. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball made a strong, fourth-quarter run in their first road test of the season at Northern Illinois University Tuesday, but the hosting Huskies won by a final score of 61-53.
 
Both schools started with high-intensity defense to start the game, applying pressure down the court. Sophomore guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) scored USI’s first bucket with a long, two-point jumper. The combination of NIU’s senior guard Chelby Koker and senior forward A’jah Davis pushed the Huskies ahead 9-6 midway through the first quarter. USI junior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) hit a deep, three-point bomb to tie the game 9-9 with three minutes left in the first, and she later scored again to bring Southern Indiana back to within two, 13-11. Northern Illinois finished the opening quarter with four unanswered to take a 17-11 lead after one.
 
To start the second quarter, baskets were at a premium, but USI senior guard Soffia Rieckers (Evansville, Indiana) connected from beyond the arc to make the score 18-14 NIU with 8:27 left in the first half. Layups by senior forwards Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio) and Tara Robbe (Wildwood, Missouri) tied the game up at 18. After trading baskets for both sides, the Huskies took a three-point lead before the Screaming Eagles’ Raley cashed in on her second three of the game to even the game with 1:36 left in the second quarter, 23-23. The first half concluded with two buckets for Northern Illinois before Shafford drained a runner right before the halftime horn to cut the Huskies’ lead down to two, 27-25, at the break.
 
Raley led USI at the half with eight points, hitting twice from three. Shafford had six points. Both teams shot 40 percent overall in the first half.
 
Out of halftime, a pair of three-pointers by the Huskies’ graduate forward Emma Carter pushed NIU ahead 33-25 early in the third quarter. Midway through the third, NIU extended their lead to double figures after a couple more made triples. NIU led 48-31 going into the fourth quarter.
 
The Screaming Eagles showed resilience and made some noise to begin the fourth quarter, making a big 12-0 run to pressure the Huskies. Rieckers made another shot from beyond the arc to start the USI run in the first few seconds of the fourth. With 8:24 left, graduate forward Ashlynn Brown (Perrysburg, Ohio) converted a basket and the foul to make it a 48-37 ballgame. Brown continued to find the bottom of the net for USI, hitting a mid-range jumper and a three-pointer to narrow the deficit down to 48-43 NIU. Southern Indiana went 5-for-6 from the field during the scoring run.
 
After a called timeout by Northern Illinois, the Huskies hit two more triples to increase their lead back to 11. Southern Indiana rallied again, trimming the score back down to six after a pair of made free throws and the third three of the game by Raley with four minutes left. Northern Illinois’ Davis made two layups with two minutes left to put NIU back up 10. Shafford drained one more three-pointer and capitalized on two free throws for USI to make the score 58-53 with under a minute remaining, but NIU made their foul shots at the end to claim a 61-53 win.
 
Southern Indiana had three players finish in double digits. Raley led USI with 15 points off the bench and went 6-10 from the floor, including a perfect 3-3 from distance. Shafford tallied 11 points to go along with six rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Brown posted 10 points with four boards and three assists, providing a boost during the Screaming Eagles’ big fourth-quarter run. Overall, USI shot 35.7 percent (20-56) and made seven shots from three. Defensively, the Screaming Eagles had 11 steals.
 
Northern Illinois was led by Koker and Davis, scoring 15 points each. NIU won the rebounding battle 37-29 and went 20-48 for 41.7 percent from the field.
 
Both teams moved to 2-1 on the season after Tuesday’s final. The Screaming Eagles will return home Saturday to Screaming Eagles Arena for a 1 p.m. tilt against Bowling Green State University.

Season #12 inside the Ford Center officially begins on Wednesday evening when the University of Evansville men’s basketball team faces Southeast Missouri State.  Tip will be at 7 p.m. for Military Appreciation Night with the Purple Aces Sports Network and ESPN+ having the coverage.

Military Appreciation Night

– Wednesday will mark Military Appreciation Night with all active military and veterans receiving free admission to the game

– Veterans and active military members can purchase additional tickets for just $5

Last Time Out

– Evansville trailed by a 14-2 margin to open at Saint Louis but rallied to take a halftime lead of 39-37

– With 11:42 remaining, UE continued to lead by a 55-51 score before the Billikens stormed back with a 26-2 run to finish with an 83-65 victory on Saturday night

– Completing the game with 14 points and 10 rebounds, Yacine Toumi picked up his first collegiate double-double

– Antoine Smith Jr. added 11 points

– Yuri Collins of SLU had 13 assists in the game and was the first to record 10+ assists against the Aces since Ja Morant had 10 in 2018

Double-Double

– Yacine Toumi followed up a 15-point effort in the opener with the first double-double of his college career at Saint Louis

– Toumi finished with 14 points and 10 caroms against the Billikens

– He currently ranks inside the MVC’s top 15 in rebounding and minutes played

– His debut at Miami Ohio saw him score 15 points, including the first eight UE tallies of the game

– In seven games as a member of the Little Rock program in 2020-21, Toumi did not attempt a 3-pointer, but in the opener he was 2-for-4

New Career Mark

– As a freshman last year, Preston Phillips scored a career-high of 8 points on two occasions

– On Saturday, he eclipsed that by scoring 9 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting night at Saint Louis

– Phillips was also 1-for-1 from outside and added a block, steal and rebound

– Last season saw him pick up a great deal of experience as he played in 28 games while making 15 starts

Scouting the Opponent

– Southeast Missouri State heads to the Ford Center with a 2-0 record on the young season

– In their opener, the Redhawks picked up a 64-61 road victory at South Florida before defeating Lyon by a final of 83-46 in their home opener

– SEMO is led by Phillip Russell, who is averaging 17.0 points per game while leading the way with eight 3-points makes

– Chris Harris is averaging 11.5 points while Josh Earley checks in with 10.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game

– Kobe Clark is their leading threat on the boards with 12 per contest

 

Evansville, In.: The Evansville Thunderbolts of the SPHL (Southern Professional Hockey League) and Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes are pleased to announce that goaltender Zane Steeves has been named the SPHL’s Player of the Week for November 7^th to 13^th.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Friday, December 2^nd against the Quad City Storm at 7:00pm CT.  For tickets, call (812)422-BOLT (2658), go to EvansvilleThunderbolts.com, or visit the Ford Center Ticket Office.

On Friday night against the Huntsville Havoc, Steeves only allowed a single goal on 20 shots faced as he backstopped the Thunderbolts to a 4-1 win.  The Red Deer, Alberta native did himself one better on Sunday against the Quad City Storm, pitching a 33-save shutout as the Thunderbolts defeated Quad City 5-0.  The shutout was his first as a Thunderbolt, and the second of his SPHL career.  So far this season, Steeves has a record of 6-1, along with a goals-against average of 2.00 and a whopping .932% save percentage.  His 6 wins lead all goaltenders in the SPHL, while his goals-against average and save percentage rank 3^rd and 5^th, respectively.

VINCENNES, Ind. – The honors roll in for the 2022 Region 24 Champion Vincennes University Trailblazers volleyball team, with freshman Paige Parlanti (Las Vegas, Nev.) being named Region 24 Player of the Year and sophomore Hannah Graber (Montgomery, Ind.) and freshman libero Morgan Netcott (Montague, Mich.) receiving First Team All-Region honors.

Parlanti is the third Trailblazer to be named Region 24 Player of the Year since Vincennes joined the Region in 2018, joining Allison Smith (Oakland, Ill.) in 2018 and Grace Earp (Mattoon, Ill.) last season.

“This award means a lot because it shows off all of my hard work and dedication that I have put into the sport of volleyball,” Parlanti said. “I just want to thank my coaches and teammates because they helped push me every day to be the best volleyball player I can be.”

Parlanti burst onto the collegiate scene, recording 23 double-doubles as a freshman and leading the Blazers with 535 kills, 59 aces and being second on the team with 538 digs.

Parlanti is currently third in the nation with 633 points this season and sixth in the country with an average of 4.8 points per set as a freshman.

Parlanti also currently sits third in the country in kills and is fifth in kills per set with an average of 4.05. Parlanti is also currently 14th in the country in digs.

Parlanti set her season-high in kills with 29 in VU’s five-set win at Kaskaskia and set a season-high of 29 digs against Iowa Western in the NJCAA Division I Midwest B District Tournament.

“My favorite memory from this past season was winning the Region 24 Championship and celebrating with my teammates,” Parlanti added. “I absolutely loved all my teammates and the sophomores were so welcoming to all of the incoming freshmen. The relationships with all of my teammates are relationships that are going to last a lifetime and I’m so thankful for them.”

“I really hope I can take the leadership skills that all of the sophomores have taught us and be just as much, if not more, welcoming and help guide the incoming freshmen to become better than us,” Parlanti said.

Sophomore Hannah Graber was named First Team All-Region 24 for the second time, after earning the honor last season.

“This is very rewarding knowing that all the hard work I have put into volleyball has paid off throughout the years,” Graber said. “My favorite memory from this past season was eating breakfast as a team before the Region tournament and District tournament, then all of us getting ready together after. Any time spent with the team was definitely a blast this year.”

Graber helped run the Trailblazer offense along with fellow sophomore setter Josephine Mulligan (Saint John, Ind.) and still finished the season with an outstanding 654 set assists, good for 43rd in the country.

UE takes down Sycamores by 3-1 final

 

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – It was a special evening inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse as the University of Evansville volleyball team put the finishing touches on a special season with a 3-1 victory over Indiana State.

With its 11^th Missouri Valley Conference win of the season, the Purple Aces surpassed the previous record of 10, which was set in 2000.  Entering the night, sophomore Giulia Cardona needed 11 kills to break Alondra Vazquez’ single season mark of 494.  She broke the record in the third set and became the first UE player to record 500 or more in a season.

Her total of 24 kills led all players as she hit .354 in the contest.  She added 9 kills and two service aces.  Vazquez recorded 19 kills, 9 digs and 5 block assists.  Laura Ruiz had a strong night with 12 digs and 4 aces while Kora Ruff and Blakeley Freeman added 10 digs apiece.  Ruff tallied 55 assists.

Set 1 – INS 26, UE 24

Giulia Cardona’s second kill of the night put UE in front 6-4 before a block by Madisyn Steele and Kora Ruff pushed the lead to 10-7.  Indiana State made its first run of the night, scoring six in a row to take a 13-10 lead.

Alondra Vazquez picked up a kill that got UE right back in the thick of it, tying it at 14-14.  After ISU went back in front at 17-15, Cardona picked up two more kills to tie it up while Emilee Scheumann added her first kill to put UE back in front – 18-17.  The Sycamores retook a 22-20 lead but Laura Ruiz served UE right back in front.  Her ace gave Evansville a 23-22 edge, but ISU rallied once again to take the frame by a 26-24 score.

Set 2 – UE 25, INS 8

Evansville came out with a burst of energy in the second set, scoring the first seven points.  Hannah Watkins picked up an early block and kill.  UE made it a double figure game at 11-1 and pulled away even more to go up 18-3.  Scheumann had a stellar kill that capped off a long rally during the run.

Ruiz added back-to-back aces to help the Aces tie the match on the strength of a 25-8 decision.

Set 3 – UE 25, INS 23

Early in the set, Cardona recorded her 495^th kill of the season to break the program single season record.  The Sycamores jumped in front at 7-5 before Cardona put the Aces back in front with a kill to make it 8-7.  UE would slowly extend its lead to three points when Steele and Vazquez assisted on a block to make it a 14-11 contest.

Maddie Hawkins used her serving to extend the lead even more, adding an ace in a run that made it a 19-12 score.  Six in a row by ISU cut the deficit to one with Cardona getting UE back on track with a kill but the Sycamore run continued as they tied it at 20-20 before taking the lead on a block.  Trailing 23-21, Evansville finished on a strong note, scoring the final four points to take a 2-1 lead.

Set 4 – UE 25, INS 23

Vazquez opened the fourth set with a pair of early kills and an ace to put her squad up by a 9-2 score.  Indiana State scored four in a row to cut into the deficit with UE weathering the storm to go up 13-7.  Cardona had an ace during the stretch.

The Sycamores countered as they would cut the margin to a pair (16-14) before Watkins registered a kill.  Evansville looked to be in good shape as they would hold a 21-17 advantage but ISU reeled off three in a row to get within one before eventually tying it at 22-22.  Vazquez’ 18^th kill of the night broke the tie before #19 clinched the victory.

Following the final MVC matches tomorrow, the bracket will be announced for the MVC Championship which is set to begin on Sunday inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.

DETROIT, Mich. – The Vincennes University Lady Trailblazers hit the road Monday and made the long trip north into Michigan to take on Wayne County Community College in Detroit.

The Lady Blazers bounced back from their two-game skid this past weekend to pick up a 77-42 victory over the host Wildcats.

Vincennes got off to a quick start after the long bus ride, scoring the first seven points of the game.

Wayne County would eventually get on the board in the opening quarter but could not manage a scoring run of their own as VU ended the first 10 minutes of play with a 21-11 lead.

Defenses held strong in the second quarter as the Wildcats were able to hold the Blazers to just eight points and chip into the deficit as VU headed into the locker room with a 29-21 advantage.

Vincennes finally broke the game open against the short-handed Wildcats in the third quarter, using a 15-0 run coming on five straight three-pointers to grow the lead to 24.

VU freshman Maycee Lange (Vincennes, Ind.) came through for the Blazers in the third period, scoring 16 of VU’s 28 third quarter points to give Vincennes a 57-29 lead heading into the final quarter of play.

Vincennes firmly put the game in cruise control in the fourth with a pair of 7-0 scoring runs as Vincennes held tough defensively all game to come away with a 77-42 road victory.

VU was led offensively by Maycee Lange who ended the day with 23 points, four rebounds and four steals.

Freshman Katrina Litte (Valmiera, Latvia) had a very solid all-around game to finish with 17 points, a team-high five steals, four assists and four rebounds.

Freshman Kennadi Harris (Columbus, Ohio) came off the bench to reach double-figures with 12 points, while also adding three rebounds and a pair of assists.

Freshman Elikya Baseyila (Paris, France) continues to control the glass for the Blazers, finishing with an outstanding 16 rebounds.

Vincennes as a team finished the night with 23 steals against the Wildcats and more than held their own in the rebounding battle to finish with 59 boards.

The Lady Blazers will return to the home floor of the P.E. Complex this weekend when Vincennes hosts the second VU Classic of the season.