The Purple Aces led on the defensive end with 40 rebounds
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In a back-and-forth battle to celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day, the University of Evansville women’s basketball came just short in a 79-72 loss to the Bradley Braves.
In front of their largest crowd in Meeks Family Fieldhouse, the Purple Aces returned from a 13-point deficit in the third quarter to a one-point game. But it wasn’t enough to get past the Braves as UE had no points in the final two and a half minutes. Evansville had two players in double-figures as freshman forwards Nevaeh Thomas and Maggie Hartwig had 19 and 14 points respectively.
“It was definitely a heartbreaker, but what an awesome environment,†said Head Coach Robyn Scherr-Wells following the game. “Thank you so much to Fifth Third Bank for sponsoring our National Girls and Women in Sports Day. It was so awesome to see all the young girls in the stands who got to participate in our sports clinic today at UE.
“They provided a great atmosphere. And when you lose a tough game like that, those young girls just know that they saw a great game and an exciting game. It was just so cool to see them in the autograph line with our players. And I think its good for our players too when it’s a tough loss to put things in perspective. We still get to be role models. There were a lot of positives from the game today even though it didn’t go our way,â€.
It was all defense to start Saturday’s game celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day. The Aces had the first lead of the night with a layup 12 seconds in. Bradley’s leading player Halle Poock immediately responded with a three before both teams had a two-minute lull. UE tied the game up before the halfway mark of the quarter on free throws. The lead changed hands with 2:44 on the clock as Thomas made a second chance layup. But an 8-2 run for the Braves made it a four-point deficit for Evansville.
The teams traded shots to start the second half. The Aces used some momentum for a four-point run, tying the game for the fourth time. Four-point runs were the name of the game in the second quarter as UE and Bradley swapped back-to-back runs. That was followed by an over two-minute stretch of back-and-forth shots to give Evansville the lead twice. The Braves again ended the quarter on a longer run, going ahead 32-28.
While the first half was characterized by defense, the second half was all offense. Both teams scored over 30 points in the third quarter with the Aces just barely coming out below. Bradley used its momentum from the end of the second to make it a seven-point game. UE cut in with layups to get the game back down to only a five-point deficit four times in the third quarter. But multiple three-point plays for the Braves soon made it a 13-point game. Evansville was able to get the game back down to three points with under a minute to go. A foul in the final 10 seconds again had the Aces down by five.
UE opened scoring in the final quarter with a second-chance layup from guard Julia Palomo. Palomo had five points in the fourth quarter alone, being Evansville’s leader early as she broke up a Bradley run with another layup. Guard Madline Gerke followed up with her lone three-pointer of the night to make it a one-possession game.  The teams returned to trading shots for the next two minutes. A free throw for Palomo with 2:27 left made it only a one-point game. But the Aces offense went quiet for the final two minutes in the 79-72 loss.
UE hits the road for its next two games, seeing teams that were in Meeks only a week ago. Evansville makes a stop in Chicago first for a 7 p.m. tip-off against the UIC Flames. The Aces will round out their road trip with a game in Valparaiso on Sunday at 1 p.m.
