USI women’s basketball gaining valuable experience to start the season

EVANSVILLE — The University of Southern Indiana Women's basketball team have learned valuable lessons in their opening week of the season.

No. 7 Louisville traveled to Liberty Arena to play the Screaming Eagles on November 8. It was the first meeting between the two teams in Evansville. They met in 2024 at the KFC Yum! Center — a 75-51 win for the Cardinals.

USI had its moments against Louisville, but not enough to keep the game within reach after the first half. The Cardinals won 80-57 and are now 3-0.

The Screaming Eagles, on the other hand, are 0-3. But their opening games have been against stiff competition.

"Obviously super excited to have a nationally ranked team come in," USI coach Rick Stein said. "All three games a really possession type games for a lot of it. I think we're improving daily, got a lot of production in a lot of different ways."

USI hosted MVC champion Murray State (82-67) on November 2 and traveled to Manhattan to play Kansas State (61-47) — one of the better teams in the Big 12.

But Louisville is on another level. Jeff Walz's group does not take possessions off — especially on the defensive end.

Their blend of ball pressure and rebounding ability was a factor throughout the afternoon. They also punished USI offensively for some of its defensive mishaps.

Momentum began to shift overwhelmingly in Louisville's favor after junior guard Imari Berry, the team's leading scorer, made a three-pointer at the buzzer to end the first half.

In the third quarter, the Cardinals outscored USI 26-12.

Still, Stein's group showed some resilience in the game — especially coming out of timeouts.

"You can't let a mistake roll into two or three or four, not with a team like this," Stein said. "I thought we did a good job of settling down and executing coming back out. I thought we lost some of our defensive identity in the third. But again, we bounce back in the fourth quarter and beat them 18-12."

The Screaming Eagles have earned a nice spark from center Channah Gannon. The sophomore leads USI in scoring to open the season with an average of 14 points per game.

Gannon faced a tough challenge in the frontcourt on November 8 with the size Louisville has, but she still found ways to create offense for herself inside. Gannon's ability to play inside and outside the perimeter has been a benefit to USI.

"It's not just me, I think all of our team is doing it," Gannon said. "Just knowing my role; getting an offensive rebound or scoring when the ball goes to me."

Gannon said playing the teams they have played will get USI ready in the long run.

Gannon shared the court with her sister, Chloe, at times against Louisville. Chloe, the team's second-leading scorer and rebounder last season, is still ramping up after an injury over the summer. After being sidelined for a month, Stein said Chloe returned too early and was out for another month.

Chloe started in the opener against Murray State but did not in the last two games. She came into the game averaging 19 minutes — sixth on the team.

"She's not 100% back to her strength or fitness," Stein said. "She's working her way back into that right now. Every single game, you're seeing a little bit more out of her."

The Screaming Eagles were dealt a tough blow when starting guard Tamara Ortiz went down with a left leg injury in the third quarter. Ortiz, USI's lone newcomer from the transfer portal, was carried off the floor unable to put any weight on the leg.

She left Liberty Arena on crutches and will see a doctor on Monday morning.

For a top 10 team to come into Liberty Arena is a good thing. The result was what it was, but it is another sign of the ambition this program has.

Stein's relationship with Walz extends back to their playing days — one that contributes to how the matchup was made possible.

Stein was at USI and Walz was at Northern Kentucky when the two went against each other on a couple of occasions.

They did not know each other then, but after the two programs met in 2024, Walz expressed a willingness to make the trip to Evansville.

"I did a double take," Stein said. "You're not going to see teams of that caliber coming to town, we got to generally go there. So appreciative of coach Walz, and believe it or not, before the game he said we might try it again."

Markos Tsegaye is a sports reporter for the Courier & Press. He can be reached at mtsegaye@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X @10_Markos_.