Aces women’s basketball battles to the end in loss at Bradley
The Purple Aces led for 29 minutes on Thursday night
PEORIA, Ill. – To begin the new year the University of Evansville women’s basketball team was 30 seconds shy of its first road win against the Bradley Braves.
The Purple Aces dropped a heartbreaker to begin 2025 with a 45-42 loss at Bradley. UE took the lead five minutes into the game but couldn’t hang on in the final three minutes in the first game of the new year. Sophomore forward Maggie Hartwig (Sauk City, Wis. / Sauk Prairie HS) continues to lead Evansville on the floor with a 16-point and eight rebound performance against the Braves.
It was a slow start on Thursday night for both teams as it took over two minutes for the first points. The Aces didn’t score until three and a half minutes into the game, but once the offense got rolling it overtook Bradley’s defense. Following the first basket the Braves hit a three, but UE quickly responded with a 9-0 run. Evansville held Bradley scoreless for the final six minutes of the first to lead by six.
It was another low-scoring quarter in the second as the Aces only had nine points through 10 minutes. UE scored seven of its nine points in the first five minutes of the quarter between two jumpers and a three for freshman forward Elle Snyder (Latrobe, Penn. / Greater Latrobe HS). In the final five minutes of the first half, Evansville made a layup with 2:03 on the clock for a six-point lead. But the Braves made two three-pointers to close out the half tied 20-20.
It was all Aces to begin the second half as UE had a 9-0 run to take the largest lead of the game. Hartwig scored seven of the nine points in the third quarter with two jumpers and a triple. Again, Evansville was able to hold Bradley scoreless for over six minutes in the quarter while Runner added four free throws in the final three minutes to lead by five.
The final quarter started with back-and-forth made shots. But a made three-pointer followed by a jump shot from the Braves had the game tied at 35 with just under six minutes to go. The Aces answered with a 5-0 run of their own, including a three from freshman guard Kaiden Kreinhagen (Indianapolis / North Central HS) to go back up by five. But UE’s offense grew cold after the run, and they did not score for almost three minutes.
Bradley took a one-point lead with 2:32 left on the clock at the free throw line. Evansville was able to make a layup with 54 seconds left to retake the lead. But the Braves responded less than 20 seconds later with a layup of their own. The Aces had two opportunities in the final 16 seconds to retake the lead. But both shots went wide as UE dropped a 45-42 heartbreaker in Peoria.
Hartwig led Evansville on both sides of the ball while Runner was the team’s only other double-digit scorer with 10 points. For the second game in a row senior guard Júlia Palomo (La Seu d’Urgell) grabbed a career-high seven boards along with a steal to help on defense. The Aces continue their road trip on Saturday afternoon at Illinois State. Tip-off from CEFCU Arena is set for 4 p.m.
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