BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – In a return to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall 17 years in the making, the University of Evansville women’s basketball team fell 109-56 to the no. 16 Indiana Hoosiers.
The Purple Aces faced likely their toughest test of the season on Monday night against the ranked Hoosiers. Despite heavy defensive pressure, UE had four players in double figures led by MVC Freshman of the Week Maggie Hartwig with 13 points. Transfer sophomore forward Tamesha Dozier had a season-high in Bloomington with 11 points while going seven of 11 from the floor.
“While the shots didn’t fall the way we would like and we gave up too much in transition, I thought we played with toughness,†said Head Coach Robyn Scherr-Wells. “It might not show in the box score but this game will make us better. I am very proud of our effort tonight in a tough environment.â€
The Aces got off to a strong start in Bloomington as graduate center Barbora Tomancova had the first points of the night on a layup. UE led for a minute and a half in the first quarter following a three from guard Alana Striverson. But the Hoosiers quickly responded with an eight-point run to take a seven-point lead and force an Evansville timeout.
Out of the timeout, Dozier hit her first three of the night getting the game down to four. The teams traded buckets back and forth until Indiana had a short five-point run with four minutes left in the quarter. The Aces added two more field goals but found themselves down by 12 heading into the second quarter.
The Hoosiers put the game out of reach for UE early in the second quarter as Evansville didn’t find a basket until the fourth minute. But the cold stretch was broken with a bang as Hartwig hit her lone three of the night. The Aces had a strong quarter from behind the arc with two threes while also having a perfect 10 minutes at the line. A five-point run for UE in the final 35 seconds from the Striverson sisters made it a 51-28 game.
Evansville started the second half almost as quickly as the first with seven points in the first minute and a half. Mason Striverson made back-to-back treys after having a quiet first half. The Aces kept cutting into Indiana’s offense through the third but a nine-point run to close out the quarter had UE facing a 38-point deficit.
It was a tough offensive fourth for Evansville as the team had an over-five-minute scoreless streak. But the Aces kept fighting to the final buzzer as they made seven points in just under four minutes. The end of the game for UE was highlighted by an Alana Striverson three and free throws from freshman guard Sydney Bradley.
Evansville won’t have much rest until their next game on Thursday morning. The Aces head to Cape Girardeau for their final matchup of the holiday break against the Southeastern Missouri Redhawks. Tip-off for UE against SEMO is set for 11 a.m.
