SW Indiana News

Women's Basketball concludes historic season with road victory

University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball captured a 67-61 road win at Tennessee State University on Saturday, bookending the first NCAA Division I season for the program with a victory.

 

Even though Saturday's game featured a game of runs, Southern Indiana always seemed to have an answer. The Screaming Eagles were poised, maintaining control of the game. USI's effort was rewarded with a win that sets the tone and stepping stone for the 2023-24 season.

 

A fast-paced tempo dictated the game early. Right out of the gates, junior guard Lexie Green (Indianapolis, Indiana) drove to the hoop for the game's first basket. Near the midway portion of the first quarter, USI found some solid rhythm. Sophomore guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) scored seven straight points for USI, tying the game at 11. With under four minutes left in the first, senior forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio) went on a roll for USI, scoring the next four points for the Screaming Eagles and finishing the quarter with a last-second basket. USI led 21-12 after one.

 

Defensively, USI created deflections that led to good opportunities in the other direction. An early second-quarter run for Tennessee State closed the gap down to three, but Southern Indiana responded. Around the halfway point of the second, senior forward Tara Robbe (Wildwood, Missouri) put together a few strong moves in the post to score multiple times. The aggressiveness by Robbe led to 12 first-half points for her, matching her season high before halftime. Southern Indiana went into the intermission ahead, 37-30.

 

Shafford buried a three-pointer out of halftime to give USI a 10-point lead, 40-30. In the middle of the third, the Tigers made a run to cut USI's lead down to four, but Shafford quickly answered with a triple to put USI back up by seven, 43-36. Tennessee State pulled within one, but a key bucket by Haithcock with just over a minute left in the third gave USI a 47-44 lead that USI carried into the fourth quarter.

 

Tennessee State started the fourth with a pair of free throws to get within one, 47-46. Once again, USI answered as Shafford and Green hit back-to-back jumpers to increase Southern Indiana's advantage to six, 52-46. Both teams went on nearly a three-minute scoreless drought in the middle of the fourth. The Tigers made another couple of pushes, but the Screaming Eagles had the response each time to maintain their lead. Ahead by three, 56-53, with two and a half minutes remaining, USI received a clutch three from senior guard Tori Handley (Jeffersonville, Indiana). Tennessee State made the game a three-point difference a couple of more times. Late free throws by Shafford and Green sealed the victory for Southern Indiana in the regular season finale.

 

Southern Indiana had four players in double figures on Saturday. Shafford led USI with 17 points on 6-10 shooting and 3-4 from three with six rebounds. Robbe poured in a season-high 14 points, going 6-12 from the floor, and grabbing seven rebounds. Haithcock also dropped 14 points with seven rebounds. Green finished with a career-high 13 points, shooting 3-4 from the field and 6-6 at the line. She also pulled down six boards. Handley dished out six assists in the game. USI was 25-56 for 44.6 percent overall, 5-11 for 45.5 percent from three, and a perfect 12-12 at the stripe. The Screaming Eagles outrebounded the Tigers 38-34 and outscored Tennessee State 34-24 in the paint.

 

Tennessee State (11-17, 7-11) was led by graduate guard Erica Haynes Overton with 20 points. Sophomore guard Gia Adams scored 14 points. Tennessee State went 21-61 for 34.4 percent in the game, 7-25 for 28 percent from beyond the arc, and 12-15 for 80 percent at the free-throw line.

 

The Screaming Eagles end the season with a 12-17 record overall and 6-12 in Ohio Valley Conference play. The 2022-23 season featured many historic firsts in the first season as an NCAA Division I program for USI Women's Basketball, including the first D-I win in November and the first OVC win in late December. Plus, there were plenty of individual milestones. Haithcock became the 10th USI player to reach at least 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds. Graduate forward Ashlynn Brown (Perrysburg, Ohio) became the 13th USI player to reach at least 750 career points and 500 career rebounds. Additionally, Brown moved inside the top eight for career blocks and second all-time with 125 games played. Now the program will turn its attention to preparing for the 2023-24 season.

Original source can be found here.