The USI Women’s Basketball three-game homestead continued on Thursday as they faced the University of Arkansas-Little Rock at Liberty Arena, home of the Screaming Eagles. The last time these two teams saw each other was a close match, but the Trojans won by a nail biting six points. Heading into this matchup, the Eagles were looking for redemption—along with a chance to climb the Ohio Valley Conference standings. Both Southern Indiana and Little Rock shared fourth place, so this game was clearly one that both teams would fight over.
To open the game, it was clear that defense was key, which proved to be especially true in the first quarter, as both teams barely made it to double digits. Halfway through the first quarter, USI’s Ali Saunders, junior guard, put up a quick two, tying the game at five.
Shortly after, Meredith Raley, graduate student forward, helped build Southern Indiana’s momentum by giving them their first lead of the game. Both teams made it to double digits with two minutes remaining, tied at ten. With time running down, Saunders found Chloe Gannon, sophomore forward/center, below the basket. The Eagles ended the first quarter ahead by two.
In the first five minutes of the second quarter, defense remained crucial, as both teams struggled to put points up on the board. However, in the latter point of the first half, both sides began to rain down three pointers. Closing the lead, Raley held her ground down low and drew the foul. After making both free throws, USI found themselves down by one with less than five minutes to go. Little Rock’s Jayla Brookes, graduate student guard, responded with back-to-back three pointers.
Their next possession, Little Rock’s Sug Williams, graduate student guard, contributed to their three-point game, causing USI to call a timeout. Williams lit up the Trojans’ scoreboard with a career high twenty-one points for the night. In the final two minutes of the half, four three-pointers were hit, three of them coming from USI’s Vanessa Shafford, senior guard and Ali Saunders. Despite an excellent run from Little Rock, USI only found themselves down by four going into halftime.
The third quarter reverted back to what characterized much of the first half, a defensive struggle from both sides. Southern Indiana outscored Little Rock 14-11. USI came close to tying the game, after Chloe Gannon, sophomore forward/center, got a second chance bucket. Gannon was a key offensive component in the second half and led the Screagles in scoring with 16 points, along with dishing four assists and grabbing five rebounds. USI stayed on their heels but never gained the lead. Heading into the fourth quarter, Southern Indiana found themselves down 45-44.
The Trojans started the fourth quarter strong with a six-point run in the first two minutes. USI recovered and cut the deficit to five, but that was the closest they would get. The final minutes were characterized by some debatable foul calls, which the crowd found questionable. To the point where Fans were on their feet in the final minutes of play booing. A few Screagles found themselves in foul trouble, notably Triniti Ralston, sophomore guard, who fouled out. Southern Indiana coach, Rick Stein, received a technical foul for badgering the officials, but by that point, the game was out of reach.
The Trojans took advantage of their opportunities from the charity stripe, making 60 percent of their free throws for the night (17/28), which helped them pull away in the final quarter. The final score ended at 75-61, which doesn’t accurately depict what happened in the game. The Trojans now claim the fourth-place spot in the OVC, while USI was bumped down to fifth, after losing their second game in a row.
