The Purple Aces end the 2023-24 season at 4-28
MOLINE, Ill. – The University of Evansville women’s basketball team couldn’t overcome the Illinois State Redbirds in the first round of Hoops in the Heartland.
The Purple Aces saw their season come to an end in the first round of the MVC Hoops in the Heartland postseason tournament. UE struggled to stop Illinois State’s offense and find consistent offense in the loss. But three Evansville players found their way into double figures while freshman forward Nevaeh Thomas led the team with 23 points and a season-high four steals.
“I’m really proud of my team,” said Head Coach Robyn Scherr-Wells following the loss. “We fought really hard. We didn’t always execute everything exactly how we hoped for going into this game. But it’s been a tough season with a lot of different injuries and a lot of different lineups for us.
“I think our team showed an amount of toughness throughout the season as they fought to get better. And I think they have. It doesn’t always show up in the win’s column. But this is a really young team and I’m so proud of them. I think we’re laying a really good foundation for our future,”.
Freshman forward Maggie Hartwig kicked off the game with a bang for the Aces, sinking a three-pointer in the first minute and a half. But UE’s offense struggled to get going after a three-minute cold spell. Evansville wasn’t able to string a run together in the first quarter, falling behind by 12 points following the first 10 minutes of play.
The Aces started clicking in the second frame as they opened the quarter going shot-for-shot with the Redbirds. UE strung together a four-point run early that Illinois State responded to with a five-point run. But a big three from guard Lexie Sinclair with under five to go cut Evansville’s deficit into single digits. The Redbirds tore off on a seven-point run to put the Aces down by 16 points.
A foul got UE back into the game on offense as guard Kynidi Mason Striverson hit two at the line. She hit an open three just over a minute later to end Evansville’s scoring in the first half. The Aces headed into the locker room down by 18 after the second.
UE put up the first five points of the second half as Sinclair hit a second three in the first minute thirty. Illinois State put together two small scoring runs but Evansville continued to break up the runs with field goals. But five straight points over 30 seconds for the Redbirds had the Aces trailing by 22. UE broke out onto one of their largest runs of the day with six straight points to get back within 16. But only two free throws over the final two minutes of the third quarter had Evansville facing a 23-point deficit with only 10 minutes to play.
It was a back-and-forth pace early in the fourth but down by over 20 matching shots didn’t get the Aces within striking distance of Illinois State. Midway through the quarter, neither team was able to make a basket for almost three minutes. The Redbirds broke the scoreless streak but UE had four straight points from Thomas at the free throw line. But a late three from Illinois State ended Evansville’s brief run, stopping any potential comeback in the 85-64 loss.
Thomas led the Aces on offense while Hartwig added 16 points and graduate center Barbora Tomancova had 10 before fouling out early in the fourth. Thomas and Hartwig also led UE on defense with five rebounds each. Thomas also had Evansville’s only block of the game.
The Aces end the season with a 4-28 record while going 2-18 during Missouri Valley Conference play. UE says goodbye to Tomancova and Sinclair as the seniors graduate from the University of Evansville in the spring.
