Women’s Basketball adds experience with mid-year signees
In their first individual workouts, new enrollees Lola Bracy and NaTaya Partee made an immediate impression on the University of Evansville women’s basketball team’s coaching staff.
“I think we’re pretty fortunate to bring two quality student-athletes into our program,” said Aces’ women’s basketball head coach Matt Ruffing. “It’s big having them come in at the semester, getting a chance to familiarize theirselves with our program, but within the schemes of what we do offensively and defensively. For them it’s a big semester. It’s an adjustment period for them. I think really they can grow individually, but then at the same time can really help us as we get deeper into conference play and can get our girls ready to play.”
Joining the Aces from Lamar University, Lola Bracy comes to Evansville after three semesters with the Cardinals. A St. Louis native, Bracy makes the move closer to home following 26 appearances at Lamar where she averaged 3.6 points per game, including a 24-point performance in 23 minutes of Lamar’s 116-37 win over Schreiner University last season.
“She’s a very aggressive player on both ends of the floor,” said Ruffing on Bracy. “She’s not shy to score and really looks to score and is someone who brings some speed to our team.”
After a season with Johnson County Community College, 6’2″ forward NaTaya Partee joins Evansville for the spring semester. Partee scored 25 points and pulled down 47 rebounds in 24 games with the Cavaliers as a freshman. The Grandview, Mo. native averaged 9.3 points and 8.5 rebounds during her four-year prep career at Grandview High School.
“We’re looking to get a little bigger here in the future and NaTaya is going to help us with that,” mentioned Ruffing about Partee. “She’s someone that is going to be able to fit that role we need, defend, rebound, and run. Offensively, I think with some time spent with our coaching staff, the ability to be a pretty good offensive player for us.”
Both Bracy and Partee will be ineligible during the spring semester due to NCAA Transfer rules.
Aces travel to Missouri State for Wednesday contest
UE faces Bears at 7 p.m.
Three of the next four games are on the road as the University of Evansville men’s basketball team begins the stretch on Wednesday with a 7 p.m. contest at Missouri State. UE is home on Saturday to take on Illinois State before traveling to Drake and UNI next week.
Setting the Scene
– UE has won 7 of the last 9 games against the Bears and are 2-2 in their last four trips to JQH Arena
– Evansville has dropped its first seven road games of the season; the last time UE started out with seven road losses was in 2005-06 when the Aces were 0-10 to star the year on the road
– Through four MVC games in 2019, UE has played in overtime twice
Last Time Out
– Trailing by five with five minutes to go in regulation, Indiana State rallied to take a 72-66 win in overtime on Saturday over UE
– Evansville trailed ISU by four inside of 20 seconds remaining, but five points from Shea Feehan helped to force overtime
– Feehan was the lone double digit scorer for UE, tallying 12 points; three players totaled nine points apiece
Takeaways from Indiana State
– John Hall had another solid game with 9 points and 9 rebounds; he continues to pace the MVC with 8.4 rebounds per game
– UE hauled in 36 defensive boards and now ranks 16th in the nation with 29.76 per game
– With 44 rebounds against ISU; the Aces have hauled in at least 35 boards in all four MVC games; in non-conference play, Evansville had 35+ rebounds in nine out of 13 games
– After posting a total of 7 points in his first two MVC games, Shea Feehan has rebounded with 13 against Loyola and 12 versus the Sycamores
Rebounding Machine
– John Hall added to his conference-leading rebound tally and continues to pace the league with 8.4 per game
– In home games, Hall has averaged 9.7 points and 9.8 rebounds per game; he also has three double-doubles at the Ford Center
– In the game against Jacksonville State, Hall grabbed a career-high 14 boards
– The Philadelphia native leads the MVC with 8.4 rebounds per game while his total of 7.4 defensive caroms is 20th in the country
Scouting the Opponent
– Under the direction of new head coach Dana Ford, Missouri State is 8-9 overall and 2-2 through their first four conference games
– MSU has won its last two games, both on the road, at Indiana State and Bradley; on Saturday, they defeated the Braves, 69-64
– Tulio Da Silva leads the Bears with 16.2 points per game, 6.9 rebounds and an unbelievable 63.1 shooting percentage
– Jarred Dixon has 14.6 PPG while Keandre Cook has posted 13 points
Evansville Police Arrested Justin Brunner On Several Charges
Evansville Police arrested 28 year old Justin Brunner on several charges after he assaulted an officer in the Emergency Room at St. Vincent’s Hospital. The incident happened around 4:00 Tuesday.Â
Brunner was at the hospital for a crisis intervention assessment. While waiting to speak with a mental health professional, Brunner made several attempts to leave. Due to his mental state, he was not permitted to leave without being evaluated. Hospital staff requested the Evansville Police Officer who was working off duty at the E.R. sit with him while he waited to be evaluated.Â
EPD Detective Aaron McCormick, who was full uniform, was in an exam room with Brunner when Brunner tried to leave again. McCormick tried to prevent Brunner from leaving and there was a struggle. During the struggle, Detective McCormick fell and struck his face on the ground. Brunner then got on top of Detective McCormick and struck him in the head and face multiple times.Â
Brunner then left the room and began running through the Emergency Room. Despite having suffered a broken nose and other facial injuries, Detective McCormick was able to chase Brunner and catch him. Brunner continued to violently fight with Detective McCormick.Â
Several hospital staff members had to help Detective McCormick gain control of Brunner, including St. Vincent’s security officers. Brunner struck an ER nurse in the face as he continued to fight. The security officers uses a TASER on Brunner to get him under control.
Detective McCormick was hospitalized for the injuries he received during the incident.Â
Brunner was arrested for Battery with Injury on Public Safety Level 5 Felony, Battery on Public Safety Level 6 Felony, and Resisting Law Enforcement Level 6 Felony.
The Death Of A Local Newspaper Rocks America To Its Core
The Death Of A Local Newspaper Rocks America To Its Core
“We’ve had our share of tensions and they certainly have held me accountable, but that is their job — to be that check on government — and I cannot imagine our community without them,†he said.
Closures like The Vindicator’s are sadly more common than ever across the country as old-school newsrooms struggle to compete with digital operations that aggregate web content but lack editorial oversight or seasoned reporters who have a deep understanding of their local area.
In the past 15 years, the country has lost over 1,800 local news organizations, according to a report by the University of North Carolina’s Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media. Half of the country’s 3,143 counties have just one newspaper to cover sprawling, often isolated territories, while nearly 200 counties in the country have no local newspaper at all, the report said.
“A local newspaper is to a community what a central nervous system is to a body,†said Paul Sracic, a political science professor at Youngstown State University. “Like the nerves in our body, the newspaper transmits vital and non-vital information throughout the community.â€
And without that, it’s very difficult for a community to maintain its sense of self.
At the local school, Becky Ford has used The Vindicator (formerly known as The Youngstown Vindicator) as a resource for the American history and social-studies classes she teaches. She also relies on it to stay connected with her community. “For us, it was like our New York Times,†Ford said. “Sports, features, local social clubs, volunteer activities, class reunions … you name it, they did it. If you called The Vindicator and asked [them] to be at your event, they were at your event taking pictures.â€
High-school athletes, in particular, will suffer from a lack of coverage, said Rick Shepas, athletic director of Youngstown city schools.
It will be “devastating for the kids and their families not to have The Vindicator write those daily articles about the student-athlete’s accomplishments both on and off the field,†he said.
After 150 years of chronicling the Ohio Valley beginning with the Reconstruction, followed by the Industrial Revolution, two World Wars, a Great Depression, civil rights, a moon landing, the Vietnam War, Watergate, 9/11 and the rise of populism, it is hard to believe that The Vindicator is no more.Mark Brown, general manager of theÂ
Although the Internet is a great source of information, the virtual communities that exist on sites like Reddit aren’t local or even identifiable.
Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown worries that the disruption caused by the paper’s closure won’t stop at the city line.
“This is a problem for our whole country,†Brown said. “Communities suffer when local journalism closes up shop, and we lose our vitality and connection to each other when that door closes for the last time.
“The bigger problem is: How are we going to stop those doors from closing here — or anywhere?â€
FOOTNOTE: Salena Zito is the author of “The Great Revolt: Inside the Populist Coalition Reshaping American Politics†(Crown Forum), out now.
“IS IT TRUE” JANUARY 15, 2019
IS IT TRUE in a recent City-County Observer “Readers Poll” we  asked the question “Who was the most effective President of the Evansville Council”? …that it’s important to point out that this poll isn’t scientific but is trendy in nature? …that Curt John received 91 votes, John Friend, CPA received 69 votes, Missy Mosby received 47 votes, Connie Robinson received 39 votes, Jim Brinkmeyer received 31 votes, Dr. Dan Adams received 21 votes, B J Watts received 6 votes, Steve Bagbey received 6 votes, Keith Jarboe received 1 vote and 47 people stated that they have now idea?
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Ford Center Hosts Cheer Competition
Ford Center Hosts Cheer Competition
JANUARY 13TH, 2019 
PAUL WILCOXEN EVANSVILLE, INDIANA
The event featured athletes from as young as 3-years of age all the way up to 18 years old.
The competition’s design is for all skill levels from the younger kids to a more advanced routine for the older ones.
One organizer says she’s happy to bring the competition to the tristate.
“So this is our first event at Evansville, In, so we were fortunate to be able to find this location and this amazing venue at the Ford Center,†Lisa Jablonski, co-owner of APEX Championships.
“We found out we’re actually the first cheer competition to come into this arena.â€
Teams were judged on their cheer routines and ranked with medals awarded throughout the competition.
The top prize is a chance to compete at the National Championships in Florida later this year.