Noe Leads Aces With 17 As Evansville Is Downed By Bears

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 Trio of Aces combine for 40 of Aces’ 51 points

The University of Evansville women’s basketball team battled tough in the early going, but fell to Missouri State, 97-51, on the road Thursday night in Springfield, Mo.

“The effort was somewhat there, but it was our game plan and it was doing what they were asked to do that wasn’t there and it was putting us in some really bad situations defensively,” said Aces head coach Matt Ruffing. “We made some shots in the first half and to be down the way we were shooting 45% from the field and 40% from three, that’s tough to swallow as a coach. The defensive effort wasn’t there and our shots weren’t falling in the second half and that’s why it was 97-51.”

Graduate guard Hannah Noe returned to double-figures for the first time in eight games with a team-high 17 points, including four three-pointers. Also scoring double-digits for Evansville were sophomore guard Macie Lively, who finished with 12 points, three rebounds, and two assists, and junior guard Kerri Gasper with 11 points and a rebound. Leading the Bears was Liza Fruendt, who tallied a game-high 28 points to go along with five assists, four rebounds, and a steal.

Evansville got the scoring by way of a triple from Noe on the Aces’ first possession as UE built an 8-7 lead at Missouri State with 4:03 left in the opening quarter. The Bears’ offense got going in the final minutes of the first period as Missouri State closed the frame on an 11-4 run to take an 18-12 lead after the first 10 minutes of action.

In the second quarter, Missouri State opened with a 13-5 run that increased its advantage to 14 at 31-17 with 6:02 remaining in the quarter. The Aces though showcased plenty of fight, clawing back within eight with an 11-6 run that closed the gap to 37-29 heading into the final minutes of the period. To close the quarter, the Bears scored 12 of the last 18 points of the quarter, including a 10-0 run, as Missouri State took a 49-35 lead into the halftime break.