Evansville, In.:  Following a weekend sweep on the road in Macon, the Thunderbolts carry a three-game win streak back home to Ford Center as they host the Peoria Rivermen for Princess & Pirates Night on Friday and Hawaiian Night on Saturday.

Week In Review:

Down 2-0 on Friday in Macon, Mark Zhukov scored late in the 2^nd period, before Scott Kirton tied the game with a shorthanded goal in the final minute of regulation to force overtime and a shootout, where Myles Abbate, Kirton, and Vadim Vasjonkin scored goals to win the game for Evansville 3-2.  On Saturday, goals from Jordan Spadafore, Vasjonkin, Matt Dorsey, Lincoln Hatten, and Jordan Simoneau powered the Thunderbolts over Macon 5-2.  Ty Taylor picked up both wins in net, stopping 25 of 27 shots plus all three shootout attempts on Friday, and stopping 28 of 30 shots on Saturday.

The Week Ahead:

The Thunderbolts host the Peoria Rivermen this Friday and Saturday night at Ford Center, both games starting at 7:00pm CT.  Friday will be Princess & Pirates Night, featuring on-site inflatables from Legendary Inflatables, a hair tinsel station provided by B. Lanae Salon, an obstacle course in the back concourse outside section 113, and prizes from Deep Blue Indoor Play.  Saturday will be Hawaiian Night, featuring the final specialty game-worn jerseys of the season, which will be auctioned off after the game.  Replica jerseys will also be on sale at the Thunderbolts merchandise stand.  For tickets, call (812)422-BOLT (2548), go to EvansvilleThunderbolts.com, or visit the Ford Center Ticket Office.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Following the announcement of the full 48-team field for the 2024 Women’s NIT (WNIT) Postseason Tournament on Sunday night, Monday’s official bracket release slotted University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball to host the University of Illinois at Chicago Thursday night (March 21) at 7 p.m. CT at Screaming Eagles Arena.

Season-ticket holders can call the USI Ticket Office at 812-465-1189. starting Tuesday at 8 a.m. to reserve seats. General public sales will open at Noon Tuesday, but season-ticket seats will still be held for reservation until Wednesday at Noon. Tickets are $10 with the lower bowl as reserved seats and upper bowl general admission. USI students receive free admission.

A potential second-round matchup for Southern Indiana would be against the University of Wisconsin at a location and time to be determined. Wisconsin received a first-round bye in the WNIT bracket.

The 2024 WNIT is the 26^th edition of the Postseason WNIT, powered by Triple Crown Sports and first held in 1998. The tournament field is made up of 11 automatic qualifiers and 37 at-large programs, flexing a mix of Power 4 conferences as well as ascending mid-major programs. All games are played at individual schools; the 2024 Postseason WNIT has 24 teams that won at least 20 games this season.

The roster of teams reflects the depth and competitive excellence found throughout women’s college basketball and draws from Power 5 notables and ascending mid-major conferences. Games are played at campus locations, helping create unique and electric environments for the women’s game that has led to remarkable record-breaking crowds over the years – more than 14,600 fans attended the 2019 championship game featuring Arizona and Northwestern in Tucson, AZ, and last year’s title game in Lawrence, KS between Kansas and Columbia drew a crowd of 11,701.

The tournament schedule is as follows:
Round 1 – March 20-22, 2024
Round 2 – March 23-26, 2024
Round 3 – March 27-29, 2024
Quarterfinals – March 30-April 1, 2024
Semifinals – April 2-3, 2024

The 2024 Postseason WNIT will again have its championship game broadcast on CBS Sports Network, with tipoff set for Saturday, April 6, at 3 p.m. ET.

Fans can follow the 2024 Postseason WNIT through X/Twitter (@WomensNIT), Facebook (womensNIT), and the hashtag #WNIT.

In only their second year at the NCAA Division I level, the Screaming Eagles are making their first-ever appearance in the WNIT. Due to NCAA reclassification policies, USI is not eligible for the NCAA Tournament despite winning the Ohio Valley Conference Championship Tournament. The WNIT is a postseason tournament not sanctioned by the NCAA.

Southern Indiana (24-6) earned an automatic bid to the WNIT after capturing the 2023-24 Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship. USI added to a strong regular season run by winning the 2024 OVC Championship Tournament title a little over a week ago. Both titles were the first-ever OVC team championships in USI Athletics history.

USI won the regular season championship by six games before winning back-to-back games against Eastern Illinois University and the University of Tennessee at Martin in last week’s OVC Championship Tournament. USI defeated the Panthers by a score of 69-54 in the semifinals and by a score of 81-53 over UT Martin in the championship game.

USI’s 28-point margin of victory in Saturday’s championship game also ranked among the largest margins of victory in the OVC Women’s Basketball Tournament championship game history, just short of the championship game’s top-two point differentials of 32 and 30 points.

Compared to recent history, Saturday’s championship win put Southern Indiana with the likes of the University of North Dakota’s 2011-12 team (Great West Conference) and California Baptist University’s 2020-21 team (Western Athletic Conference) to win a regular season and conference tournament championship in the same season during a transition period.

Plus, Southern Indiana is currently enjoying a 10-game winning streak for the second time this season, matching a team best since the 2017-18 season. The 2017-18 season was also the last time USI had won at least 24 games overall as the Screaming Eagles have done so far this season.

Morales to continue work with the Purple Aces program

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Evansville head volleyball coach Fernando Morales has added another impressive line to his résumé with the announcement that he has been named the head coach of the South Korea National Team.

Morales will continue as head coach of the Purple Aces program along with his work with the South Korea squad.

“South Korea is a program with a lot of tradition and history.  They have won Olympic medals in the past and were among the best teams in the world,” Morales said.  “It is my goal to take them back to that competitive level.”

Evansville has a great deal of momentum heading into the 2024 season highlighted by Melanie Feliciano returning for her fifth season to team up with reigning Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Giulia Cardona.

 Aces tied for 11^th in Sevierville

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. – Carson Parker recorded an even score of 72 on Monday to jump into the top 25 at the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate at the River Course of the Sevierville Golf Club.

After opening the tournament with a 77, Parker lowered his score by five strokes to an even 72.  With a 149, he is tied for 22^nd in the individual standings.  Second for the Purple Aces is Caleb Wassmer.  He led the team with a 76 on Sunday and completed Monday’s 18 holes with a 77.  His 153 is tied for 38^th.

Isaac Rohleder is third on the team with a 156.  Rohleder posted a 79 on Sunday before coming on with a 77 in round two.  He is tied for 56^th.  Andres Rodriguez checked in with an 81 in the second 18 holes.  Combined with his opening round 77, he has a 158.  Daniil Romashkin completed the round with an 82 and heads into the final day with a 163.

Belmont continues to hold the team lead, but a huge day by Lee University has them right on the Bruins’ heels.  Belmont heads into Tuesday’s final round with a 577 while Lee sits at a 581.  Pablo Riveiro of Chicago State paces the individuals with a 140.  He posted identical scores of 70 in the opening two rounds.  He is one in front of Belmont’s Michael Senn.