Gasper and Miller combine for 32 as Aces fall to Drake

 

EVANSVILLE, Ind. -  Junior Kerri Gasper and redshirt sophomore Marley Miller each poured-in 16 points as the University of Evansville women’s basketball team dropped a 101-50 decision to Drake on Friday night inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.

“We kind of know the situation that we are in and what we’re up against this weekend playing two really good teams. With the injuries that we had against Indiana State, our backs up against the wall,” said Aces head coach Matt Ruffing. “We have three new players that got one day of practice in and I was excited for them. What an experience getting to play in a division one basketball game. I can’t imagine what their emotions were before the game. I thought our team, for the most part, executed pretty well and did the best that they could.”

Gasper and Miller were the lone two Purple Aces to finish in double-figures with Gasper adding eight rebounds, while junior guard Hannah Noe and junior center Kelsi Scott each added six points each. In her first collegiate appearance, freshman guard Monica Watkins scored two points, picking-up a pair of rebounds, a block, and a steal. For the Bulldogs, six players finished in double-figures led by Sara Rhine who finished with 19 points. Maddy Dean finished just shy of a triple-double for Drake as Dean tallied 13 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists.

The Bulldogs opened the game on a 7-0 run before Gasper hit a three with 6:43 left in the opening quarter. Following Gasper’s three, Drake once again scored seven-straight to open up a 14-3 advantage over the Aces. Trailing 29-5 in the final minute of the period, Scott scored back-to-back layups to trim the Bulldogs advantage to 29-9 at the conclusion of the first quarter.

A 7-0 run to open the quarter pushed Drake’s advantage to 27 at 36-9 before Noe and Gasper drained triples to stop the Bulldogs’ run. The Aces kept pace with Drake for most of the second period as the threes continued to fall with a Miller trifecta with 4:39 left in the quarter. To close the period, the Bulldogs manufactured an 8-0 spree that gave Drake a 58-24 lead at the halftime break.
The run reached 18-0 as the Bulldogs scored 10-straight points to open the second half and push their lead to 68-24. It was Noe again who halted Drake’s run with a triple with 5:58 left in the third quarter. After Gasper scored to trim Drake’s lead to 74-36 in the final minutes of the quarter, the Bulldogs hit three of their last four three-pointers to push their advantage to 83-36 heading into the fourth quarter.

To open the fourth period, Hannah Fuller hit another three for the Bulldogs, increasing Drake’s lead to 50 at 86-36. Midway through the frame, Miller fired a three that missed its mark and was rebounded by Monica Watkins. Watkins went back up following the rebounded and laid it in for her first collegiate points. In the fourth quarter, Miller hit two more three-pointers to bring her total to 16 points on the night. Closing the game, Gasper hit a pair of layups, but each time Drake answered with a basket of their own as the Bulldogs grabbed the 101-50 win.

Drake finished the contest shooting 69.1% (38-55) from the field and 60.6% (20-33) from beyond the arc, while the Aces shot 33.9% (19-56) from the field and 34.6% (9-26) from three-point range.

Evansville concludes the weekend and a three-game homestand on Sunday at 1 p.m. with a matchup with UNI inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.