Shafford and Raley selected for the preseason All-OVC squad
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball is projected to place sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference in a vote submitted by the league’s head coaches and communication directors.
USI heads into its second season in the Ohio Valley Conference after going 12-17 overall and 6-12 in conference play in 2022-23.
The 11-team OVC will feature a schedule with each team playing each other at least once for an 18-game schedule. For each team, two opponents will only face off once while the other eight will match up twice in a home-and-home split. The conference schedule will occur from December 29, 2023, through March 2, 2024. The conference’s season concludes with the OVC Basketball Championship Tournament at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana March 6-9, 2023.
Tennessee Tech University topped the OVC preseason poll with 196 points and 16 first-place votes. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock was picked second with 184 points and five first-place votes. Eastern Illinois University also received a first-place vote and picked up 157 points for a third-place projection.
The University of Tennessee at Martin was picked fourth with 135 points, and Southeast Missouri State University was selected fifth with 125 points. USI was sixth with 104 points in front of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville with 89 points. Tennessee State University was picked eighth with 75 points while Morehead State University earned 64 points for ninth place. OVC-newcomer Western Illinois (49) and Lindenwood University (32) round out the poll.
As part of the OVC’s preseason announcement, Southern Indiana was represented by two players on the 2023-24 Preseason All-OVC Team. Senior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) and junior guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) were selected.
Coming off a strong junior season in 2022-23, Raley averaged 13.3 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game, and shot 47.8% (133-278) from the floor. She also connected at the free throw line at an 80.6% (87-108) clip and recorded 2.1 assists per game. The Haubstadt, Indiana native won OVC Player of the Week honors twice during the 2022-23 season. Raley made 22 starts in 28 appearances last season.
Shafford made a huge jump in her sophomore season in 2022-23, starting all 29 games and leading the team in minutes played. Shafford posted 13.0 points per game and led the squad with 7.1 rebounds per contest, which was third in the OVC. She was second on the team with 2.2 assists and tied for a team-high 1.7 steals per outing. Shafford shot 44.2 percent (134-303) overall, and she ranked first in the OVC and fourth nationally in three-point percentage at 46.8 percent (66-141).
Entering the 2023-24 campaign, both players are inside the top-50 all-time in USI history for career points and rebounds. Raley has 804 points and 321 rebounds in her career. Shafford has tallied 559 career points and 301 boards.
The 2023-24 USI Women’s Basketball squad features eight returning players, including three starters, and six newcomers. USI Head Coach Rick Stein begins his 25th season at the helm with a 423-254 record. Stein led USI into new territory last year in the program’s first season at the NCAA Division I level.
USI gets the 2023-24 season rolling on November 6 at 7 p.m. against Wright State University from Screaming Eagles Arena, the first of three consecutive home games to begin the season for the Eagles. Southern Indiana will have three Power-5 opponents during the non-conference slate, including road games at the University of Missouri (November 20) and Purdue University (November 26) as well as a home contest against the University of Cincinnati (December 17). The first OVC matchup for USI is on December 29 when the Eagles visit Southeast Missouri.
2023-24 OVC Women’s Basketball Predicted Order of Finish
(as voted on by the league’s head coaches and communication directors)
1. Tennessee Tech (16 first-place votes) – 196 points
2. Little Rock (5 first-place votes) – 184
3. Eastern Illinois (1 first-place vote) – 157
4. UT Martin – 135
5. Southeast Missouri – 125
6. Southern Indiana – 104
7. SIUE – 89
8. Tennessee State – 75
9. Morehead State – 64
10. Western Illinois – 49
11. Lindenwood – 32
2023-24 Preseason All-OVC Team
Veronica Charles, Morehead State
Anna Deets, Western Illinois
Jaliyah Green, Southeast Missouri
Tia Harvey, Little Rock
Faith Lee, Little Rock
Shae Littleford, UT Martin
Macy McGlone, Eastern Illinois
Miah Monahan, Eastern Illinois
Maaliya Owens, Tennessee Tech*
Meredith Raley, Southern Indiana
Vanessa Shafford, Southern Indiana
KK Rodriguez, SIUE
Anna Walker, Tennessee Tech
*Preseason OVC Player of the Year
