Aces women’s basketball drops MVC opener to Drake
The Purple Aces hosted the Bulldogs at the Ford Center for the first time since 2017
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville women’s basketball team opened conference play in the arena of the 2025 Credit Union1 MVC Women’s Basketball Tournament against the Drake Bulldogs.
The Purple Aces returned to the floor on Sunday afternoon with a 76-54 loss to reigning Missouri Valley Conference champs Drake. UE closed out December with a month best assist to turnover ratio against a Division I opponent through 40 minutes with the Bulldogs. For the third game in a row sophomore forward Maggie Hartwig (Sauk City, Wis. / Sauk Prairie HS) led Evansville on offense with 19 points. While senior guard Júlia Palomo (La Seu d’Urgell, Spain) had a team-high seven rebounds.
“It was a tough game today,” said Head Coach Robyn Scherr. “We opened up the game pretty well and then we got tired. We looked young out there. We’re a little short-handed today with some injuries and some illness. I think that caught up to us in the second quarter. Drake has three seniors that are really experienced and they sure played like it.”
Freshman guard Camryn Runner (Cicero, Ind. / Hamilton Heights HS) began the Aces scoring on Sunday with an open three in the first minute and a half. UE made all but one point behind the arc in the first quarter from three separate players. Evansville did not make a field goal in the last four minutes of the quarter as Drake led by as many as nine after 10 minutes.
While the second quarter began with a 4-0 Bulldog run, the Aces soon turned the tables. UE forced four turnovers from Drake in under four minutes to break out on an 8-0 run to get within five points at the media timeout. Evansville came within a basket on junior forward Tameshia Dozier’s (Louisville, Ky. / Wabash Valley) first three of the game with just under two minutes. But a 10-0 run from the Bulldogs made it a 38-26 game after the first half.
The Aces began the second half similar to the first with an open three for freshman guard Kaiden Kreinhagen (Indianapolis / North Central HS). UE called an early timeout shortly after as reigning MVC Jackie Stiles Player of the Year Katie Dinnebier made back-to-back threes. Evansville didn’t score a field goal for over six minutes until Runner made a fast-break layup. Runner also had the final bucket of the third, a buzzer-beater three from the right wing as the Aces trailed by 23.
UE opened scoring in the fourth with another three this time from freshman forward Elle Snyder (Latrobe, Penn. / Greater Latrobe HS). Evansville had the first two baskets of the quarter as Drake went scoreless through the first three minutes. The Bulldogs had a 17-5 run through the middle of the fourth putting the game out of reach for the Aces. UE closed out the game with an eight-point run for a 76-54 final.
Hartwig and Runner were Evansville’s only double-digit scorers with 19 and 14 points. Six different Aces made three-pointers as Hartwig, Runner, and Palomo had two each. It was a career game defensively for Palomo as she pulled down seven boards while adding two steals.
UE hits the road for its first Valley series later this week. Evansville will begin 2025 in Peoria to take on the Bradley Braves on Friday. Tip-off from Renaissance Coliseum is set for 6 p.m. on January 2nd.
