University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball briefly begins Great Lakes Valley Conference play Saturday at 5:30 p.m. when it hosts arch-rival Bellarmine University at the Physical Activities Center.
Saturday’s game is the sixth of seven straight games at the PAC for the Screaming Eagles, who have won six straight games.
USI (6-1, 0-0 GLVC) is led by senior center Kacy Eschweiler (St. Charles, Missouri) and senior guard Alex Davidson (Salem, Indiana). Eschweiler is averaging 13.9 points and a team-best 9.0 rebounds per game, while Davidson is chipping in 13.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and a team-high 4.6 assists per appearance. Sophomore forward Imani Guy (Columbus, Indiana) and sophomore guard Emma DeHart (Indianapolis, Indiana) each are contributing 10.1 points per game.
Saturday’s game will be broadcast on 95.7 The Spin and on the GLVC Sports Network. Live stats, audio and video links can be accessed at GoUSIEagles.com.
USI Women’s Basketball Notes (11/28/18)
• Eagles go 3-0 last week. USI Women’s Basketball posted a perfect 3-0 record last week, including a 2-0 mark in regional play. Sophomore forward Imani Guy led USI with 15.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, while senior guard Alex Davidson contributed 13.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per contest. Junior guard Ashley Johnson and senior center Kacy Eschweiler each chipped in 10.5 points per outing as the Eagles ran their winning streak to six games with wins over IU Kokomo (84-57), Lake Erie (80-38) and Michigan Tech (80-65).
• USI empties bench. After playing down-to-the-wire nail-biters in each of their first four games, the Eagles reeled off three double-digit wins this weekend, allowing USI Head Coach Rick Stein to play all 12 of his players in all three games last week.
• Everyone produces. All 12 of USI’s players found the scoreboard in the win over Lake Erie, with nine players scoring at least five points and four players recording double-digits.
• Eagles in midst of second-longest home win streak. The Eagles extended their home winning streak to 26 games with their wins last week. It is USI’s second-longest home winning streak in program history. USI won 33 straight games at the PAC from 1996-98 and 23 straight home games from 2000-02.
• 20-point efforts. Guy’s career-high 25 points in USI’s win over Michigan Tech marked a season-high for the Eagles and made her the fourth different Eagle to notch a 20-point game this season. USI has had eight different players reach double-figures in the scoring column this year and six different players reach double-figures multiple times.
• Stein going for another milestone. Head Coach Rick Stein is vying for his 200th GLVC win when the Eagles host Bellarmine Saturday. USI’s win over Lincoln Memorial earlier this year marked the 500th time Stein has been on the bench for an Eagle victory. Stein was an assistant coach under USI Hall of Famer and current Bellarmine Coach Chancellor Dugan for 159 wins from 1991-99 and has amassed a program-record 345 victories in his 19-plus seasons at the top of the USI Women’s Basketball program.
• Speaking of Coach Dugan… When the Eagles and Knights battle Saturday evening, it will mark the 13th time that Stein squares off against his former boss. Stein holds a 7-5 lead in the all-time series between the two.
• About Bellarmine. The Knights are perfect through five games in 2018-19 and are averaging 81.8 points per game, good enough for third in the GLVC. Sophomore forward Lauren Deel leads the Knights with 14.6 points per game, while senior center Liza Tibbs is averaging 10.4 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game.
• What to expect? Watching USI and Bellarmine play can be like watching a mirror. Both teams are relentless with their full court defenses and use that to create points in transition. USI has won three straight games and will need to limit its own turnovers and control the paint if it is to push that streak to four.
• Around the corner. Following their GLVC-opener, the Eagles return to non-conference play Tuesday for a game against NAIA opponent Lindenwood-Belleville before a two-week hiatus and a December 18 road game with defending national champion Central Missouri.
• About Lindenwood-Belleville. The Lynx are 2-6 heading into their Thursday night conference game against St. Louis College of Pharmacy. They also host NAIA No. 4 Columbia College Saturday prior to visiting the PAC Tuesday. Junior guard Brianna Mueller is averaging 17.9 points per game to lead the Lynx, while junior guard Hailey Erdman is chipping in 13.0 points and 4.3 assists per contest.
• GLVC Tournament Points Rating System returns. The 2018-19 GLVC schedule, consisting of 18 games, is a non-divisional format, meaning the Eagles play their travel partner—Bellarmine—twice as well as four other GLVC teams twice. There will be no divisions and the standings will once again be based off of the GLVC Tournament Points Rating System, with the top eight teams qualifying for the league’s post-season tournament.
• Record book watch. One player is currently in USI’s record books:
–Kacy Eschweiler is 11th in blocks (62), 29th in rebounding (389) and is 41st in scoring (597).
• Magic Mark: 75 points. The Eagles are 404-75 (.843) all-time when scoring at least 75 points. USI is 277-26 (.914) since 1996-97 when reaching the 75-point plateau.
