USI women’s basketball showed the best version of itself in the OVC Tournament

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EVANSVILLE — This was the University of Southern Indiana women’s basketball team many envisioned.

The top seed in the Ohio Valley Conference on the ropes. A fifth-year senior rising to the moment in the second half. A team punching above its weight at the opportune time of the season. What the Screaming Eagles delivered at Ford Center this week was championship worthy.

There just wasn’t enough left in the tank.

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No. 1 Tennessee Tech advanced to the OVC championship with an 88-78 win over No. 5 USI on Friday. A 15-3 run in the final three minutes was the difference from advancing. The Screaming Eagles (22-12) still proved worthy of more postseason basketball.

“It’s really hard to win and get to the top,” said USI coach Rick Stein. “It’s even harder to stay there. We had a mark on our back that was as big as you’ve ever seen. We got everybody’s best game. We stayed tough, strong and together.”

Southern Indiana’s Sophia Loden (40) is fouled as the University of Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles play the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles during the semifinals round of the 2025 Ohio Valley Conference Basketball Championships at Ford Center in Evansville, Ind., Friday, March 7, 2025.

The term ‘resilient’ fits what USI accomplished in the OVC Tournament. After beating Tennessee State and Little Rock on back-to-back days, the Screaming Eagles trailed by 12 in the second half against the regular season champion. They caught the Golden Eagles with a minute remaining in the third.

Even if it took trial and error to find it — the Screaming Eagles lost five times in February — this week was arguably the best version of this team. USI only trailed by one with 4:45 remaining in the semifinal. It couldn’t get stops afterwards.

“You have to bring it every single night,” said Stein. “We kept bringing it. I don’t think we lost it for 120 minutes in the last 72 hours. That’s a lot of basketball. We were ready…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/usi-womens-basketball-showed-best-234319061.html

Author : The Courier & Press

Publish date : 2025-03-07 23:43:00

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