Not only did University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball finish the 2017-18 season as a Top 25 team on the court, but the Screaming Eagles also performed well in the classroom. USI was tied for No. 16 in the 2018 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Division II Academic Top 25, which was released Tuesday afternoon.
USI, which had a 3.640 team grade point average during the 2017-18 academic year, was one of four teams from the Great Lakes Valley Conference to earn a spot in this year’s Academic Top 25 and one of 10 teams from the Midwest Region.
Midwest Region foes Michigan Tech University (3.796) and Purdue University Northwest (3.755) were ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, while No. 8 Rockhurst University (3.683), No. 11 McKendree University (3.673) and No. 22 Quincy University (3.589) were the other three teams from the GLVC to join the Eagles in the Top 25.
Under the direction of Head Coach Rick Stein, the Eagles were one of five teams to be ranked in both the WBCA Division II Top 25 Coaches’ Poll and the WBCA Division II Academic Top 25. USI finished the year with a 26-5 overall record, 16-2 in GLVC play, and was No. 18 in the final coaches poll.
Senior forward Morgan Dahlstrom (Grayslake, Illinois), a first-team All-GLVC and second-team All-Midwest Region honoree, earned third-team Academic All-America honors and was one of 11 USI women’s basketball players to earn Academic All-GLVC accolades this season.
This marks the second straight year and third time under Stein that USI has earned a spot in the WBCA Division II Academic Top 25 after ranking No. 12 a year ago. The Eagles were No. 15 following the 2010-11 campaign.
