The Purple Aces match their highest steals total with nine
MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Evansville women’s basketball team couldn’t overcome being down 16 points in the first quarter against the UT Martin Skyhawks.
A slow first half on offense was too much for the Purple Aces to combat in their 94-82 loss to the Skyhawks. But UE was able to make a game of the second half, coming back from a 27-point deficit midway through the third to only a 12-point loss.  Four players had double-figure performances while every available member of Evansville’s bench scored at least a point.
Evansville opened up scoring in the game with a basket from center Barbora Tomancova. But an early six-point run for UT Martin led to a lead the Aces couldn’t overcome. UE trailed by 16 points with only a minute and a half left in the first quarter. But an eight-point run highlighted by back-to-back threes from Hartwig and Kynidi Mason Striverson put Evansville back within single digits.
The Aces deficit again grew to double-digits at the start of the second quarter and didn’t come down for the rest of the half. UE was able to match the Skyhawks shot for shot early But a five-point scoring run from UT Martin kept the half out of reach as Evansville went into halftime down to 51-34.
It was a slow start to the second half for the Aces as their first basket came after three minutes from the free throw line. Several small runs from the Skyhawks had UE trailing by 27 with just under six minutes left in the third quarter. Halfway through the frame, Evansville’s offense found a little fire with a five-point run to bring the deficit back down to 20. It was back and forth the rest of the quarter with a score of 75-54 going into the final frame.
The Aces benefited in the fourth quarter from 17 chances at the free-throw line through 10 minutes. With mostly bench players in the game for both teams, UE began to slowly chip away at the 20+ point lead. A 12-point run to end the game for Evansville put forward Anica Skrivan into double digits and made it a 94-82 final.
Forward Maggie Hartwig led the Aces on both sides of the ball with 17 points and nine rebounds in 32 minutes on the floor. UE also had double-digit performances from Kynidi Mason Striverson (15), Tomancova (14), and Skrivan (10). Tomancova also excelled on the defensive side of the ball with eight rebounds, two steals, and one block. For the third game in a row, Evansville led at the glass with 30 rebounds.
The Aces return home for a Wednesday night matchup with IUPUI on the 6th. Tip-off from Meeks Family Fieldhouse is set for 6 p.m.
