In celebration of the 2023-2024 Southern Indiana women’s basketball team’s success in its second year in Division I sports, I want to dive into the archives to honor the team’s history. Specifically, I want to rewind back to 1997, a time when one of my predecessors, Ryan Reynolds, was the sports guy at The Shield.
Reynolds’ charm was felt with puns like “Buy stock in pencils and erasers, folks. The Lady Eagles are rewriting USI record books at a phenomenal pace,” (The Shield, 97-02-05).
In 1997, the helm was led by Chancellor Dugan, who had 114 career wins in her illustrious career at USI, the most in the school’s history. For those who don’t know about Dugan, she transformed the university’s women’s basketball program into what it is today. She brought a winning mindset and a culture that still stands today. At her side was Rick Stein, assistant coach at the time (now USI’s women’s basketball head coach), who has been an anchor at the university for over a quarter decade, serving as the head coach for 25 years, which is simply special.
Division II’s leading scoring team, the Screaming Eagles, was led by LeAnn Freeland, who averaged 21.1 points per game, 7.4 rebounds per game and 24 minutes per game. She was flanked by Eileen Weber (15.4 PPG on 24 MPG), Angela Cacello (8.3 PPG on 18.9 MPG), Darci Redenbaugh (7.4 PPG on 18.2 MPG) and Ericka Nance (7.3 PPG on 16.7 MPG).
Although the team was by no means a team of three-point shooters, they hit five of their first nine attempts from deep against the University of Missouri-St. Louis. This was one of the team’s best offensive performances, not only that season, but in the history of the university. The team, which at the time was the highest-scoring team in Division II at 89 PPG, defeated UMSL in the end by a score of 109-72.
In the following months, USI maintained its excellent form under Dugan, finishing with a university record 20-0 in the conference. The team finished with a blistering 30-2 overall, winning the Great Valley Lakes Conference title, the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II regional championship and falling short in the NCAA Division II National Championship but reaching a level of success that has certainly been felt this year.
Simply put, success doesn’t come out of left field. It takes years to build a system, a core of ideals and standards that take time to mesh both physically and mentally into the individuals who uphold them.
While the 1997 team played in Division II, whereas the current iteration of the Eagles plays in Division I, it’s important to celebrate a team’s accomplishments and legacy — along with the trophies they leave with the university. Perhaps in 10-15 years, we will do the same with the 2023-2024 women’s basketball team.