With wins against Tennessee Tech and UA Little Rock, the Skyhawks found themselves playing 24-6 University of Southern Indiana (USI) for the OVC Championship. The Skyhawks fell just short of the OVC tournament championship after a 81-53 loss to USI on March 9. However, due to the NCAA transition rules, they will be representing the OVC in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament. This will be the Skyhawksā fifth tournament appearance and the first since 2014.
Despite being the OVC Champions, the Screaming Eagles will have to wait two more years for their chance at the NCAA tournament. USI made the transition to Division 1 in 2022 to the Ohio Valley Conference, and the NCAA transition rules state that a program must endure a four-year reclassification process before being eligible for NCAA and NIT tournaments across all sports. This process includes increasing the number of sports available at USI to seven for each gender and increasing the athletics budget up to at least $12 million. This is how the runner-up Skyhawks claim the OVC automatic bid for the NCAA tournament.
The short-handed Skyhawks fell to USI behind a 26-point effort off the bench by freshman guard Amari Bonds. Bonds career high was a result of an expanded role provided by the team having six active players for the Championship that day. With a spot in the NCAA tournament already locked up, the team thought it best to rest impact players Kenley McCarn, Anaya Brown, Lexi Rubel and Josie Story.
Breakout freshman Kenly McCarn earned OVC Tournament team honors after averaging 21.1 points per game during the tournament. McCarn was the lone Skyhawk on the OVC tournament team joined by four USI players. McCarn will show off her talents on a national stage starting March 22-23 during the NCAA tournament.
The Skyhawks will look to extend their season deeper into March with a first-round win in the NCAA tournament. The Skyhawks have a hard road to the NCAA championship, but itās called March Madness for a reason. The Skyhawks will face The Holy Cross Crusaders at 8 p.m. on March 21 for a chance to play two time National Player of the Year Caitlyn Clark and The Iowa Hawkeyes in the round of 64.
