University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball heads to Las Vegas, Nevada, this weekend to compete in the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic. The No. 23 Screaming Eagles, who received their first national ranking of the season Tuesday, take on West Texas A&M University Saturday at 4 p.m. (CST) and No. 9/13 University of Tampa Sunday at 2 p.m.
Both games will be aired live on 95.7 The Spin, while Flohoops.com is scheduled to carry both contests. Live stats and audio links are available at GoUSIEagles.com, while live video links also will be available at GoUSIEagles.com after the links become available through FloSports.tv.
This weekend’s contests are the final non-conference games for the Screaming Eagles, who are 7-1 following their 108-42 win over Kentucky Christian University this past Friday. USI resumes Great Lakes Valley Conference play January 2 when it visits McKendree University.
Headlines
• USI earns national ranking. USI Women’s Basketball earned its first national ranking of the year Tuesday as the Eagles are ranked No. 23 in the latest D2SIDA Top 25 Media Poll. Additionally, the Eagles are receiving votes outside the latest WBCA Division II Top 25 Coaches’ Poll.
• DeHart closing in on 1,000 points. Fifth-year senior guard Emma DeHart is just 13 point shy of becoming the 19th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. DeHart currently ranks No. 20 all-time at USI with 987 career points.
• Stein closing in on 400. USI Head Coach Rick Stein, whose been on the sidelines for 554 of USI’s 702 wins as an assistant and head coach, is just five wins away from his 400th career victory.
• Eagles reach century mark for first time since 2016. USI Women’s Basketball defeated Kentucky Christian, 108-42, in its only game last week. The Screaming Eagles reached the century mark for the first time since they defeated Hannibal-LaGrange, 106-44, November 20, 2016, while their 66-point margin of victory was their largest since defeating Mid-Continent, 109-42, November 18, 2012. The 108 points also are tied for the 10th most in program history and were the most USI has scored in a single game since they put up 109 in a 48-point win over Salem International on November 22, 2013.
• More season highs. The Eagles had six season-highs in their win over Kentucky Christian, including points, field goal percentage (.500), field goals (39), field goals attempted (78), rebounds (54) and assists (20).
• Leaders. USI had 12 different players scored at least five points, including eight that had at least eight points in its win over Kentucky Christian. Freshman guard Vanessa Shafford went 7-of-7 from the field and 1-of-1 from behind the arc as she finished with a game-high 16 points, while sophomore forward Meredith Raley added 14 points. Senior forward Ashlynn Brown chipped in 10 points and a career-high 13 rebounds as she recorded her first-career double-double.
• Season Leaders. Junior forward Hannah Haithcock averages 12.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 0.6 blocks per game to lead the Eagles, while Raley and DeHart are averaging 11.3 and 10.3 points per game, respectively. Brown and fifth-year senior Ashley Hunter are respectively averaging 9.9 and 9.1 points per outing, while Brown is averaging a team-high 6.3 rebounds per contest. Junior guard Addy Blackwell is chipping in 7.8 points and a team-high 2.9 assists per appearance, while DeHart leads USI with 2.4 steals per game.
• Big leads. The Eagles have jumped out to leads of at least nine points in each of their first eight games and have had no less than a 17-point cushion represent its largest lead in seven of their first eight contests.
• Eagles open GLVC play with 700th win. USI picked up its 700th win with their 79-62 victory over Indianapolis on November 29. The Eagles are 702-546 all-time in 46-plus years of existence.
• Forcing the issue. USI is making opposing offenses uncomfortable in the first six games as the Eagles are forcing their opposition into an average of 22.6 turnovers per contest. They are converting their opponent’s offensive miscues into an average of 25.4 points per game.
• USI picked to win East Division again. The Eagles were picked to repeat as GLVC East Division champions in 2021-22. USI won the East Division title last season, marking the third consecutive season when the league has been split into divisions that the Eagles have captured the East Division title.
• Double-figures. USI has already had seven different players reach double-figures in the scoring column this year, all of whom have scored 10-or-more points in multiple games. The Eagles had nine different players reach double-figures in the scoring column last year, with eight players having had 10-or-more points in multiple games.
• About West Texas A&M. The Lady Buffs, who play Montana State Billings Friday, are 6-6 to start the season despite playing one of the toughest schedules in the country. Junior guard Zamorye Roberts averages 14.4 points per game to lead West Texas A&M, who have played four nationally-ranked opponents during their first 12 games, while senior forward Alivia Lewis averages 10.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest.
• About Tampa. The Spartans are 10-2 overall and 3-0 in the Sunshine State Conference. Senior forwards Dori Nagy and LaShayla Wright-Ponder respectively average 14.3 and 13.7 points and 8.2 and 8.7 rebounds per game to lead four Tampa players averaging in double figures. Junior guard Melijah Sullivan and senior guard Aliya Abney chip in 12.0 and 10.7 points per game, respectively, for a Tampa team that outscores its opponents by an average of 66.2 to 57.1 points per contest.
• Record book watch. The Eagles have two players making moves inside the USI Women’s Basketball Record Books:
–Emma DeHart ranks No. 7 on USI’s all-time list for three-point field goal attempts (366), No. 11 in made three-pointers (111) and No. 20 in points (987). DeHart is 11 points away from matching Deb Pope for 19th and is vying to become the 19th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
–Hannah Haithcock is No. 45 on USI’s all-time scoring list (576).
• Magic Mark: 75 points. The Eagles are 427-78 (.846) all-time when scoring at least 75 points. USI is 300-29 (.912) since 1996-97 when reaching the 75-point plateau.
