MACOMB, Ill. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball secured its berth in the 2024-25 Ohio Valley Conference Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament Thursday evening after earning a hard-fought 76-70 win on the road at Western Illinois University.
Southern Indiana clinched its second consecutive berth into the OVC tournament and will continue to work toward defending its OVC championship from last season come early March. USI also locked up its second win in a row and moved back to 10 games over .500 on Thursday behind a career-high 24 points from graduate forward Madi Webb. The Screaming Eagles improved to 18-8 overall and 10-5 in the OVC, remaining in fifth place in the conference. Western Illinois dropped to 12-12 on the season with a 6-9 conference record.
In a tight contest out of the gates, Southern Indiana found early success inside through the play of graduate forward Meredith Raley and sophomore forward Chloe Gannon. Each scored a pair of field goals in the early minutes of the opening quarter. USI’s trap defense also had an early presence, forcing Western Illinois into five first-quarter turnovers. Despite some outside shooting woes with an 0-6 start from three, the Screaming Eagles continued to find offense in the paint. Webb matched Raley and Gannon with two conversions under the basket. Southern Indiana led 18-14 after the first 10 minutes.
USI continued attacking the post with Webb and Raley combining to score the Eagles’ first three buckets in the second period. At the 7:20 mark of the second, Southern Indiana increased its lead to eight, 27-19, after getting its first three-point make from junior guard Ali Saunders. Webb continued to have a strong first half, reaching double digits for the game and giving USI a 12-point, 33-21 advantage with four minutes left in the first half. Webb totaled 14 first-half points. Western Illinois ended the first half with a small run, cutting USI’s lead in half down to six, 38-32, at the break.
Western Illinois scored seven straight points out of halftime to take the lead before Southern Indiana scored its first second-half points on a basket from Gannon at the 6:32 mark of the third quarter. The Leathernecks tallied eight consecutive points after the Gannon basket to go ahead by seven, 47-40. Later in the period, Raley earned a three-point play and scored once more to hit double figures in the game and bring USI back within one possession with under three minutes left in the third. Webb resumed her solid performance with a pair of buckets late in the frame to help knot the game at 54 going into the fourth quarter.
The two sides went back and forth into the middle of the fourth quarter. Even when Western Illinois grabbed a four-point lead on a triple near the seven-minute mark of the fourth, Southern Indiana answered with a three-point of its own. Later, Webb tied the game at 66 and surpassed 20 points for the game at the midway point of the fourth quarter. After the Leathernecks went up by four, USI responded and went ahead 71-70 on a go-ahead trey from sophomore guard Triniti Ralston with two minutes remaining, as the Screaming Eagles sealed the win at the free-throw line.
Southern Indiana shot over 42 percent (29-68) from the floor and just above 23 percent (4-17) from three-point range. USI went for 70 percent (14-20) at the free-throw stripe. The Eagles had a strong game on the glass, outrebounding Western Illinois 47-40. USI also outscored the Leathernecks 46-20 in the paint. The Screaming Eagles did a good job taking care of the basketball, recording a season-low eight turnovers.
Webb led USI and tied a game-high 24 points on 10-19 shooting in setting her new career mark. Raley posted her seventh career double-double and first of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Senior guard Vanessa Shafford tallied 14 points and pulled down nine boards.
Western Illinois was held to 39.4 percent (26-66) shooting overall but did connect for 37 percent (10-27) from three. The Leathernecks were 8-14 for 57 percent at the foul line. Sophomore guard Raegan McCowan led four Leathernecks in double figures, tying a game-high 24 points.
Next, the Screaming Eagles will make the trip to St. Charles, Missouri on Saturday for an 11 a.m. matchup against Lindenwood University. Saturday’s game will be televised on ESPNU and is the first nationally televised game for USI Women’s Basketball at the D-I level. The Spin 95.7 FM will have additional radio coverage.
