The University of Evansville women’s basketball team dropped a road contest to UIC, 96-77, on Saturday afternoon in Chicago, Illinois.
Graduate guard Hannah Noe and junior guard Kerri Gasper each led the way for the Purple Aces with 14 points each, while sophomore guard Macie Lively and freshman guard Kayla Casteel recorded 13 apiece. The Flames were led by Brittany Byrd, who finished with 29 points on six made three-pointers.
The Flames shot 51.5% (34-66) from the field and 50% (12-14) from beyond the arc, while Evansville went 23-54 (42.6%) from the field and 12-28 (42.9%) from three. Both the Aces and Flames struggled with turnovers, combining for 37 giveaways, but UIC held a 39 to 22 advantage on the boards.
In the opening quarter, the Flames started out hot, shooting 44% (8-18) from the field including four from beyond the arc to take a 20-9 lead into the second frame.
The Aces responded in the second quarter, opening the period with a 13-4 run capped-off by a three by Casteel that trimmed the UIC lead to just two at 24-22. A 24-11 stretch for the Flames provided UIC with its largest lead of the first half at 48-33, but the Aces scored the last five points of the second quarter to cut the Flames’ lead to 10 at 48-38 at the halftime break.
In the third quarter, UIC returned to its hot-shooting ways, knocking down six triples and finishing the quarter 57.7% from the field, increasing its lead to 20 at 76-56.
Evansville battled back from the deficit in the final ten minutes of action, cutting UIC’s lead as low as 15, but the Flames answered with a 10-0 run through the middle portion of the fourth quarter in route to the Flames’ 96-77 win.
Evansville wraps-up its pre-holiday slate on Tuesday when the Aces travel to take on SEMO at 1 p.m. in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
