UE women’s basketball hosts first MVC games in Meeks Family Fieldhouse

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — The University of Evansville women’s basketball team returns to its home court for two-weekend conference games.

The Purple Aces are still looking for their first win in Missouri Valley Conference play after three games on the road to begin 2025. Despite an early lead at Indiana State last week, UE didn’t hang on in the eventual 90-74 loss. Evansville did have its best offensive performance in Valley action on Sunday. The Aces crossed the 70-point threshold for the first time since their 84-51 win over IU Columbus. It was also UE’s first 70+ point performance against a Division I opponent since scoring 87 points against SIUE on December 8th.

Evansville returns to its regular home court for the first time in over a month. The Aces have been away from Meeks Family Fieldhouse since their 87-74 win over SIUE in early December. UE currently holds a perfect 3-0 record on the Lois D. Patton Court that will be tested on Friday evening against Missouri State and on Sunday afternoon when Southern Illinois comes to town.

The Missouri State Lady Bears come to Evansville for their final MVC series against the Aces as the school moves to Conference USA for the 2025-26 academic year. The Lady Bears are one of four programs with only a single loss in Valley play and have the second-best overall record in the league at 11-4. Missouri State is led by reigning MVC Newcomer of the Year guard Lacy Stokes who leads the Lady Bears in scoring (13.1), assists (4.0), steals (2.3), and minutes played (34.1). On defense, Missouri State is led by sophomore guard Kyrah Daniels with 5.5 rebounds, 0.9 blocks, and 28.3 minutes a game.

The Southern Illinois Salukis are another team looking for its first conference victory. Overall, the Salukis are 2-11 on the season and currently are on a seven-game losing streak. Southern Illinois’ last win came over NAIA Central Methodist for an Education Day game on December 2nd. The Salukis’ lone win against a Division I opponent was on the road at IU Indy in an 85-80 victory. Southern Illinois is led by the only player in the Valley averaging a double-double in newcomer forward Gift Uchenna. Uchenna averages 14.7 points and 12.7 rebounds a game and has been named the MVC Newcomer of the Week twice.

Against Indiana State, Evansville had its best three-point game of the season. The Aces made a season best 13 treys in the Hulman Center and was their best game in the category since 2022. With 39 points made from three-point range treys made up over 50% of UE’s scoring on Sunday. Evansville had 33 attempts from behind the arc for 39.4% shooting, only the team’s fifth-best three-point percentage.

With the high offensive output on Sunday, multiple Aces set new career highs as well. Offensive leader Camryn Runner set a new high in made threes (6), three-point attempts (10), and assists (6) that earned her a program-best sixth MVC Freshman of the Week honor. Freshman guard Avery Kelley, sophomore forward Claudia Clement, and freshman forward Elle Snyder set new career scoring highs against Indiana State. Kelley and Clement had their first double-digit performances with 10 points each. While Snyder had a nine-point game with a career-high three made treys.

-www.gopurpleaces.com-