EVANSVILLE, Ind. -Â On “Senior Day”, the University of Evansville women’s basketball team fought to keep pace with Valparaiso, but came up short in a 67-54 loss to the Crusaders in the Purple Aces’ home finale on Sunday afternoon inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
“The third quarter is getting us again and a lot of that comes down to the depth and we’re playing some players out of position and we’re just not as comfortable as we’d like to be because of it,” said Aces head coach Matt Ruffing. “We’re still battling through. I told our team after the game that the effort is getting there. We’re getting close to where our effort level needs to be to where we can now focus on the basketball stuff. I thought we really took a step forward today.”
The Aces honored a pair of seniors who each contributed a single season to program in graduate guard Hannah Noe and senior forward Elizabeth Perkins, who was honored in a ceremony prior to tip-off.
“I don’t care how long you’re on the team whether its four years or, in this case, Hannah has been a part of our team for one year and Elizabeth has been with us for three weeks, no matter the length of time you’ve been a part of the team, we want to honor them,” said Ruffing. “Both of them have been a really big influence on our team and I think their teammates think the world of them. Today’s ceremony was for us to be able to acknowledge them and for them to get the respect and applause they deserve and they are certainly worthy of it.”
For the ninth-straight game, junior guard Kerri Gasper led the Aces with 13 points, chipping in seven rebounds, two steals, and an assist. Freshman guard Kayla Casteel also finished in double-figures for Evansville, scoring 10 points, while sophomore center Kaylan Coffman set a new career-high with 10 rebounds to go along with six points and a block. Pacing the Crusaders was Dani Franklin who tallied a game-high 24 points, adding seven rebounds and four steals.
The opening quarter, much like the game, was a story of perseverance for the Aces as UE was tasked with digging itself out of an early hole. After Valpo jumped out to a 14-3 lead with 3:45 remaining in the quarter, Evansville responded with a 12-8 run to cut the Crusader’s lead to 22-15 heading into the second period.
In the second quarter, both teams hit a frigid offensive stretch. Evansville and Valpo combined to make just four field goals in the quarter as the Aces outscored the Crusaders, 7-6, in the quarter to trim Valpo’s lead to 28-22 at the halftime break.
As has been the case at other points during the season, the third quarter doomed the Aces. After a pair of free throws by Coffman cut the Crusader’s advantage back to six at 30-24, Valpo went on a 25-7 run to pull ahead, 55-31. In the third period, Valpo out-shot the Aces, 43.8% (7-16) to 11.1% (2-18), to help build its advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
Evansville found its stride in the fourth period as the Aces made one last push. After the Crusaders’ pushed their lead to its largest point of 26 at 63-37, UE manufactured a 17-4 run to close the game. The Aces shot a game-high 50% (8-16) from the field in the final ten minutes, while Valpo cooled off, shooting 33.3% (5-15), as the Crusaders grabbed the 67-54 win.
In the game, Valpo out-shot the Aces, 36.1% (22-61) to 25.4% (15-59), as Evansville was hampered by a cold shooting afternoon from beyond the arc where UE was just 8-35 (22.9%).
The Aces conclude the regular season with a trip to Missouri State on Thursday night before taking on Southern Illinois on Saturday in their final tune-up before MVC Tournament action.
