DAYTON, Ohio – Despite facing a 16-point deficit after the first quarter, the University of Evansville women’s basketball team battled back against Wright State on Sunday, outscoring the Raiders over the final three quarters, but ultimately fell short by a score of 69-60.
Camryn Runner (Cicero, Ind./Hamilton Heights) led the Aces with 16 points, while Logan Luebbers Palmer (Union, Ky./Randall K. Cooper) scored in double figures for the third game in a row with a season-high 13. Freshman Georgia Ferguson (Waterloo, Ontario/Cairine Wilson Secondary School) added nine points for the highest scoring total of her young collegiate career.
Wright State got off to a hot start, opening up a 9-0 lead in the first 2:20 of action. Runner steadied things for the Aces, scoring her team’s first four points to make it 11-4, but the Raiders extended their lead to 16 at the end of the quarter.
The Purple Aces got their offense going in the second quarter, shooting four-for-six from three-point range to get back in the game. Evansville ended the quarter on an 8-1 run, with Luebbers Palmer and Elle Snyder (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) knocking down three-pointers and Runner hitting a jumper to make the score 38-25 heading into halftime.
Wright State got their lead back up to 19 in the first four and a half minutes of the third quarter, but the Purple Aces would not go down without a fight, continuing to chip away. A basket from Jelena Savic (Melbourne, Australia/Kurunjang Secondary College) and a transition three by Sydney Huber (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Mount Vernon) made it 48-34 and forced a Raiders timeout with 4:54 to go in the quarter. In the Aces’ final possession of the third, Luebbers Palmer buried a contested three to keep it within striking distance heading into the fourth.
Evansville came out of the gates hot in the final period, with Snyder, Ferguson and Runner all getting buckets before another three by Luebbers Palmer brought the score to 59-51 with 5:18 remaining. A layup by Runner cut the deficit to six with 4:04 left, and following a Raiders basket, Lubbers Palmer responded to make it a six-point game once again with 2:36 to go. However, that was as close as the Aces would get, as the Raiders were able to hang out to secure a nine-point win.
Evansville shot 38.9% from three on the afternoon, their highest three-point shooting clip of the season, led by a 3-for-3 performance from Luebbers Palmer. The Purple Aces out-rebounded the Raiders 41-31, paced by BreAunna Ward (St. Louis, Mo./John Burroughs School) with seven.
The Aces return to Meeks Family Fieldhouse on Thursday for the regular season home opener, taking on IU Indy. Tip-off is set for 6 PM.
