The USI Women’s Basketball team hosted the Indiana University East Red Wolves, a NAIA team from Richmond, Indiana, for a matchup at Liberty Arena. IU-East served as a tune-up matchup against an inferior opponent, which would be a good opportunity for a showcase of younger players, along with various lineups from Southern Indiana.
The Screaming Eagles entered this game with a record of 2-1, winning matchups against Franklin College and at Saint Louis University. The one loss was heartbreaking against the Murray State University Racers, which came from a buzzer-beating layup after a possession where Ali Saunders, senior guard for Southern Indiana, hit a game-tying three-pointer in hopes of sending the game to overtime.
After that loss, the team traveled to Saint Louis University Billikens for a matchup against a team in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Screaming Eagles had a get-right game, beating the Billikens by a score of 68-52. Five players contributed double-figure scoring, a well-rounded game across the board. The score doesn’t particularly tell the entire tale, as the point differential was only nine points going into the fourth quarter. However, Southern Indiana played staunch defense in the fourth quarter, giving up only five points.
Head Coach Rick Stein once again opted for the same lineup as in the previous games, which featured Shannon Blacher, junior guard, and Saunders at the one and two guard positions. At the other forward positions, Sophia Loden, junior guard/forward, and Amiyah Buchanan, junior forward. And finally, in the middle, stood Chloe Gannon, junior forward/center. What stood out in this game was the pure size advantage for the Screaming Eagles, as they faced Indiana University East, a Red Wolves team that featured five guards in the starting lineup.
Early on in the game, Southern Indiana showed strong talent and aggression. The Screaming Eagles pressed the Red Wolves from the word go, scoring 11 of the first 16 points, giving up only two baskets, both from three-point shots. Gannon scored two baskets during this stretch, both in the paint. Saunders, Loden, and Blacher also contributed to the early start.
With just under five to go in the first quarter, Buchanan added to the lead, hitting an elbow jumper off a driving dish from Saunders. 30 seconds later, a media timeout ensued, in which Stein brought on Lexi Sepulveda, sophomore guard, and Maddy Fay, junior forward.
Fay made an immediate impact, scoring a jumpshot, while being fouled, earning an opportunity for a three-point play, which she completed. On the next possession, Saunders stole the ball, which led to a layup from Gannon and increased the lead to 18-6. The Red Wolves countered immediately, hitting a two jumper. Their run was short-lived, as Sepulveda hit a corner three, and Fay hit a one-layup, but didn’t convert the free-throw. With 1:41 to go, Lily Graves, freshman guard/forward, entered the game, along with Buchanan. Buchanan scored her second basket only six seconds later.
To close the quarter, Sepulveda scored her first basket of the game, on a fastbreak layup after she ripped the ball away from a defender, giving Southern Indiana a 27-8 lead. IU-East attempted to get the last shot, but Graves blocked the shot with one second left.
In the second quarter, Saunders got going early, scoring a mid-range jumper and a three-pointer. Graves scored a fastbreak layup in between, after she stole the ball. The Red Wolves attempted to cut into the deficit, scoring two baskets in the first two minutes, but they received a goose egg for the rest of the quarter.
For Southern Indiana, scoring was no problem, as Saunders and Gannon both scored eight points for the quarter. Loden and Sepulveda also hit a three-pointer apiece, while Kylee Dennis, redshirt sophomore guard, added three free throws to the scoring surplus. The Screaming Eagles entered halftime with a ballooned lead of 54-12, on pace to score over 100 points.
The Red Wolves came into the third quarter with a bit more effort, scoring seven of the first five points, hitting another three-pointer. Perhaps it seemed as if the Screaming Eagles would let off the pedal for a bit. With that being said, they still put up points to keep the game beyond reach. Loden and Buchanan scored the first eight points for Southern Indiana.
With under five to go in the third quarter, Saunders once again stole the ball and scored a fast-break layup. Sepulveda, who has been recently subbed in, hit another three-pointer, her third for the game, along with a layup, which gave her 13 points for the game at that point.
As the curtain was about to close on the third quarter, Gannon scored a buzzer-beating layup off an assist from Dennis. This layup added another two points to a lead that had somehow grown even larger from halftime, Southern Indiana leading 71-26.
In the final quarter of play, the Screaming Eagles got back to work scoring, as Dennis scored an opening layup after she stole the ball off a rebound for the Red Wolves. Graves got onto the scoring sheet with a layup and two free throws.
The Red Wolves finally scored in the fourth quarter at 6:54 and added four more points by the five-minute mark. The Screaming Eagles cut the run short with a Dennis three-pointer. Sarang West, senior guard, added another three-pointer, off an assist from Alli Robertson, freshman forward. With a jumper from Dennis and a layup from Robertson, and an assist by West, the Screaming Eagles continued to grow the lead. Southern Indiana locked down the Red Wolves for the rest of the game, ending victorious with a score of 87-32.
For Southern Indiana, all 11 active players not only played more than 10 minutes each but also scored at least one basket. Gannon, Saunders, Sepulveda, and Dennis scored in double figures. The team as a whole played strong defense, forcing 28 turnovers, 17 of which were steals. They scored 39 points off those turnovers and dominated in the paint, scoring 40 points in the paint, and out-rebounding the Red Wolves 49-28.
The Screaming Eagles play their final game before Thanksgiving Tuesday, Nov. 25, at Liberty Arena, where they host Fisk University, before hitting the road for matchups against Northern Kentucky University and East Tennessee State University.
