By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Southern Indiana has proven to be one of the most-improved teams in the Ohio Valley Conference this season and currently sits atop the league standings as the Screaming Eagles have won all three of their league games this season.
The improved upstart takes on the tradition of the Golden Eagles on Saturday as the two teams lock up on Saturday evening with the tipoff scheduled for 5 p.m. Roger Ealey will have the call on 106.1 The Eagle with Matthew Will and Payton Buse handling the action on ESPN+ (subscription required).
The Screaming Eagles have had a solid start to the 2023-24 campaign, going 8-5 on the season with wins over Wright State, Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan, then topped Southeast Missouri, Lindenwood and Tennessee State to open the league schedule.
The Lindenwood game was close – a 71-68 victory on the road – but the wins over the Redhawks and the Tigers weren't as USI topped SEMO 75-37, then defeated TSU 78-57 on Thursday night.
The Redhawks finished their game shooting 20 percent from the floor after hitting 17.65, 18.18 and 14.29 percent in the first three quarters while turning the ball over 21 times. In the TSU game, the Screaming Eagles shot 73.33 percent from the field and 5-for-8 from 3-point range to outscore the Tigers 31-11 with TSU shooting 4-for-10 in the opening quarter.
As a team, USI is averaging 68.7 points a game while allowing 65.4, shooting .429 from the field, .340 from 3-point range and .698 at the free-throw line. They average 7.1 3-pointers a game and 9.3 free-throws made a game.
Vanessa Shafford leads the Screaming Eagles with a 14.3-point and 6.7-rebound average, while also collecting a team-best 20 steals. Shafford is also the team's top 3-point shooter, knocking down 23 of 58 tries. Meredith Raley also averages 11.6 points and has been a staple at the free-throw line, hitting 30 of 38 shots.
The Golden Eagles broke a two-game skid on Thursday night with a dominant performance at Morehead State, scoring the first 11 points of the game, then collecting another 10-0 run to open the second quarter to take a 79-56 victory over the host Eagles.
Tech took both meetings against Southern Indiana in its first season in the OVC by nearly identical scores as the Golden Eagles won 79-59 in the Hooper Eblen Center with Maaliya Owens knocking down nine 3-pointers to almost tie a program single-game record, finishing with what was then a career-high 29 points (she broke that this season as she scored 30 against Southeastern Conference foe Kentucky, a personal milestone for the Bluegrass State native). The return trip to Evansville resulted in a 78-57 Golden Eagle victory with Owens adding another 28-point performance.
As a team, Tech is averaging 67.6 points a game and allowing 64.1, shooting .412 from the field, .343 from 3-point range and .738 from the free-throw line. The Golden Eagles average 7.5 3-pointers and 12.6 free throws made per game.
Owens leads the team in scoring at 15.1 points a game, while shooting .431 from the field and .408 from long-range as she has made 38 3-pointers – over half of her single-season record of 92 from last season and currently on the pace to potentially surpass that mark.
Reghan Grimes (8.9 ppg), Reagan Hurst (8.6 ppg) and Anna Walker (7.6 ppg) are the next leading scorers, while Grimes leads the team in rebounding with a 5.1 average, Walker with 21 blocks, Peyton Carter with 36 assists and Yaubryon Chambers with 17 steals.
The Golden Eagles return home next Saturday as they host Southeast Missouri.
Tickets for Tennessee Tech basketball are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or order online at TTUsports.com.
Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
