COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball extended its Ohio Valley Conference lead and winning streak with a hard-fought 81-72 road win at Tennessee Tech University Thursday night.
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On Thursday, the Screaming Eagles began a span with six of eight games on the road to start February, but USI battled to earn its 10th consecutive victory to start the road-heavy stretch. Southern Indiana continues its best streak since 2017-18 and the best start to a conference schedule since 1996-97. With the win, USI improved to 14-5 overall and 9-0 in conference play, taking a three-game advantage in the OVC standings at the halfway point of the conference season and into the next game on Saturday.
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Thursday’s victory also meant a regular-season sweep for Southern Indiana against the reigning OVC Tournament champions, as USI defeated Tennessee Tech by three at home in early January. Since joining the OVC at the start of last season, the regular-season sweep was the Screaming Eagles’ first against one of the new, unfamiliar OVC opponents after jumping to Division I. Southern Indiana swept Lindenwood University in 2022-23, who also made the jump with USI from the Great Lakes Valley Conference in Division II.
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After a tight battle to start, Tennessee Tech created some separation with three triples in the first handful of minutes to take an early 13-6 lead. Following a media timeout, Southern Indiana got rolling with an 8-0 run to surge back ahead, 14-13, including a three-point play by senior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) and a trey from graduate guard Tori Handley (Jeffersonville, Indiana). The two squads went back and forth the rest of the first period, as the Golden Eagles led 21-18 heading to the second quarter.
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Each team scored a bucket to start the second quarter, but then both defenses produced scoring droughts of over two minutes. In the middle of the frame, junior guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) got a shooters’ bounce and roll for a transition three, and senior forward Madi Webb (Bedford, Indiana) scored a nice layup underneath to put USI ahead, 26-25. Following another two-minute drought, Shafford drained another triple. With 1:15 left in the first half, freshman forward Chloe Gannon (Manchester, Tennessee) cashed in on a basket and the foul to give the Screaming Eagles a 33-25 advantage. Southern Indiana took a seven-point lead, 35-27, into the intermission.
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To start the second half, Webb scored six straight points for Southern Indiana to push the Screaming Eagles ahead by double figures. Tennessee Tech made a small run just over three minutes into the third quarter to bring the deficit back to single digits, but USI answered with a pair of opportunities inside. At the 5:03 mark, Shafford swished a three through the bottom of the net to give USI a 51-39 advantage. Both sides struggled offensively in the back half of the third, but a three-pointer in the last 15 seconds of the third quarter led to a 56-47 USI lead through three.
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Coming off a career-high 18 points in last Thursday’s win against Western Illinois University, Gannon once again took charge in the second half and to start the fourth quarter. Gannon tallied three consecutive buckets for Southern Indiana, as the Screaming Eagles maintained a 10-point margin, 62-52, three minutes into the fourth stanza. After Raley stuck a straightaway three-pointer through the nylon to put USI up 14 with 6:34 left, the Golden Eagles clawed back with a couple of threes and some looks in transition, making it a six-point game, 70-64, with less than three minutes remaining. USI responded with a three-point play by Shafford with 1:40 left on the clock. In a free-throw game down the stretch, USI closed out the win to begin the road trip.
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Southern Indiana shot 46 percent (30-65) with seven triples made at a 44 percent clip. USI was 14-22 at the charity stripe. The Screaming Eagles won the battle on the glass, 43-37. Additionally, USI had 28 bench points and 42 points in the paint. Shafford paced the Screaming Eagles with 16 points and 12 rebounds, her fifth double-double of the season and 10th career double-double. Gannon finished with 15 points in front of a large group of family and friends who made the trip. Webb recorded 14 points, and Raley posted 13 points and nine boards.
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Tennessee Tech was held below 40 percent shooting, going 23-64 for 36 percent, and limited to 5-27 for 19 percent from outside the arc. The Golden Eagles were 21-23 for 91 percent at the foul line. Tennessee Tech had two players in double figures, as sophomore Reagan Hurst and senior Anna Walker combined for 37 points. Tennessee Tech dropped to 9-11 this season with a 4-5 mark in the OVC.
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The Screaming Eagles continue the road trip Saturday at 1 p.m. from Nashville, Tennessee against Tennessee State University. Saturday’s game can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+ a
