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Fourth-Quarter Run Propels Eagles Into GLVC Semifinals

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Post-game links: Printable Box Score |Sortable Box Score | Postgame Comments | Photos

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.—Junior guard Alex Davidson (Salem, Indiana) scored 13 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter as No. 15/17 University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball erased a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat William Jewell College, 64-54, in the quarterfinals of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament Thursday afternoon.USI (25-3), the No. 2 seed in the GLVC Tournament, used an 18-0 run that took up less than four minutes of the fourth period to turn a 45-38 hole into a 13-point lead late in the contest.William Jewell (12-14), the No. 7 seed, had turned a 39-38 lead heading into the final period into a seven-point lead with just over eight minutes to play in the game when Davidson connected on USI’s second three-pointer of the contest.The Screaming Eagles exploded from that juncture, using its press to create eight William Jewell turnovers in five minutes to completely flip the game around.

Junior forward Kacy Eschweiler (St. Charles, Missouri) pulled the Eagles to within a point with 6:35 to play; while a layup by Grooms a minute later put USI on top, 46-45. A pair of Davidson free throws with five minutes to play extended USI’s advantage to three points; while her layup 15 seconds later, following a steal by senior guard Randa Harshbarger (Philo, Illinois), gave USI its largest lead to that point at 50-45.

On the Cardinals’ next possession, Harshbarger picked up another steal and raced to the other end to give USI a 52-45 lead with 4:29 to play; while Davidson had back-to-back layups off William Jewell turnovers in the ensuing 30 seconds to put USI up, 58-45, with less than four minutes on the clock.

William Jewell used a pair of three-pointers to cut into the Eagles’ advantage, but the damage was done as USI was able to ice the game at the free throw line.

Grooms had 18 points to lead the Eagles, who rallied from a seven-point second-quarter deficit to forge a 30-30 tie at the intermission. USI shot just 25.0 percent (3-12) in the third quarter but was 7-of-11 (.636) from the field in the final 10 minutes to earn the victory.

Harshbarger added 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and six steals for the Eagles, who survived a three-point barrage from the Cardinals.

Led by senior forward Katie Finn, William Jewell went 10-of-25 (.400) from three-point range. Finn, who drained six three-pointers, had 21 points to lead all scorers.

The Eagles return to action Saturday at noon when they take on Lewis University in the semifinals at the Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville, Illinois. The No. 3 seeded Flyers (23-6) defeated No. 6 seeded Truman State University, 71-61, in the quarterfinals Thursday afternoon.

Notes: USI senior forward Morgan Dahlstrom (Grayslake, Illinois) was limited to just four points and four rebounds in the game, marking the first time this season Dahlstrom has not reached double-figures in either the rebounding column or the scoring column…Saturday’s semifinal game marks the first time since 2015 that the Eagles have advanced past the quarterfinals of the GLVC Tournament.

Newspaper Box Score

William Jewell vs Southern Indiana

03/01/18 Noon at Edwardsville, IL (Vadalabene Center)

SOUTHERN INDIANA 64, WILLIAM JEWELL 54

WILLIAM JEWELL (12-14)

Finn, Katie 7-10 1-1 21; Harrell, Kayla 4-8 1-2 10; Offield, Sydney 3-12 0-0 7; Rodriguez, Adriana 3-9 0-0 6; Butaud, Kaiti 1-3 0-0 3; Fisher, Rhyann 1-3 0-0 3; Closser, Natalie 1-2 0-0 2; McCoy, Lindsey 1-5 0-0 2; Butler, Hayden 0-0 0-0 0; Pitrof, Ashley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-52 2-3 54.

SOUTHERN INDIANA (25-3)

Grooms, Kaydie 6-11 6-8 18; Davidson, Alex 5-12 4-8 15; Harshbarger, Randa 5-11 2-2 12; Sherwood, Morgan 1-2 3-4 6; Eschweiler, Kacy 2-6 1-2 5; Rowan, Mikayla 2-3 0-0 4; Dahlstrom, Morgan 1-5 2-2 4; Johnson, Ashley 0-0 0-0 0; Guy, Imani 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-50 18-26 64.

William Jewell…………….   17   13    9   15  -   54

Southern Indiana…………..   15   15    8   26  -   64

3-point goals—William Jewell 10-25 (Finn, Katie 6-8; Fisher, Rhyann 1-1; Harrell, Kayla 1-2; Butaud, Kaiti 1-3; Offield, Sydney 1-6; McCoy, Lindsey 0-2; Rodriguez, Adriana 0-3), Southern Indiana 2-13 (Sherwood, Morgan 1-2; Davidson, Alex 1-6; Eschweiler, Kacy 0-1; Harshbarger, Randa 0-2; Grooms, Kaydie 0-2). Fouled out—William Jewell-Harrell, Kayla, Southern Indiana-None. Rebounds—William Jewell 32 (Harrell, Kayla 7), Southern Indiana 28 (Eschweiler, Kacy 9). Assists—William Jewell 14 (Rodriguez, Adriana 4; Harrell, Kayla 4), Southern Indiana 13 (Harshbarger, Randa 5). Total fouls—William Jewell 21, Southern Indiana 10. Technical fouls—William Jewell-None, Southern Indiana-None. Attendance—437.

Notes: 2018 Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament Quarterfinals…USI is ranked No. 15 by D2SIDA & No. 17 by WBCA…USI is No. 2 seed; WJC is No. 7 seed in GLVC Tournament.

March Dangerous & Impaired Driving Enforcement Blitz will include DUI Checkpoint

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During a news conference earlier today at the University of Southern Indiana, representatives of the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Traffic Safety Partnership (which includes the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office and the Evansville Police Department) along with the Indiana State Police announced details about and answered questions related to the upcoming statewide March Impaired Driving Enforcement Blitz. This high-visibility enforcement effort, known as Operation Pull Over Blitz #93, will run from Friday, March 2nd through Sunday, March 25th. The increased enforcement effort will encompass St. Patrick’s Day, USI and UE spring breaks, as well as the NCAA tournament.

This impaired driving and aggressive driving enforcement campaign will consist of saturation patrols and may include multiple DUI checkpoints as part of a comprehensive effort to promote safe driving behavior and curb drunk driving. With March 17th falling on a Saturday, local law enforcement will conduct saturation patrols intended to make our roads safer. Anyone found to be driving impaired will be arrested.

Last year the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) and National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) purchased 1,759 new portable breath tests for Indiana law-enforcement agencies. An additional 836 devices will be purchased this year. But unlike alcohol, there is no quick field test for the legal and illegal drugs that can impair drivers. ICJI and NHTSA are issuing Android tablets and apps to assist 185 highly-trained police officers in the recognition and enforcement of drug-impaired driving.

If you plan to drink alcohol, please don’t drive. Designate a sober driver beforehand. If you are impaired, use a taxi service or call a sober friend or family member. If you see a motorist who is operating in an unsafe manner or you suspect is driving while impaired, please call 911 immediately. Be prepared to report the location, description, and direction the vehicle is traveling.

The first planned checkpoint for the March Blitz will be conducted this Friday, March 02, 2018 from 11:00 pm until 2:00 am. The location for Friday’s checkpoint was chosen based on local traffic collision data. Analysis of data captured in March of 2017 indicated that several geographical areas within Vanderburgh County accounted for a disproportionately high number of reported hit and run crashes. The upcoming checkpoint will be located within one of those areas. Hit and run crashes are often the result of impaired drivers who try to avoid arrest by fleeing the scene. The Evansville-Vanderburgh County Traffic Safety Partnership conducts sobriety checkpoints in an effort to detect and deter impaired drivers (thereby reducing the occurrence of alcohol and drug related traffic crashes).

Enhanced local traffic enforcement is made possible by funding provided by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute through a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

 

Pictured above: The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office at the 2018 USI Safe Spring Break Fair. Students were given the opportunity to take Standardized Field Sobriety Tests while wearing “Drunk Goggles” that simulate impairment.

UNI Defeats UE Men, 60-50, In Arch Madness Opener

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Smith Scores 20 In Contest

 Sophomore Dru Smith tallied 20 points while senior Duane Gibson posted 14, but UNI proved to be too much as the University of Evansville men’s basketball team fell to the Panthers by a 60-50 final in Thursday’s Arch Madness opener at the Scottrade Center.

In his second game back, Smith went 7-of-13 from the field to notch the 20-point outing.  He also led the Aces (17-15) with six rebounds.  Gibson was 6-8 from the floor to finish with 14.  For the first time this season, Ryan Taylor was held to single digits as he was 1-for-13 from the floor to finish with two points

“It was a tough game for us, you have to give Northern Iowa credit.  I thought they really defended us well and their physicality was evident tonight,” Aces head coach Marty Simmons said.  “This is not how we wanted our season to come to an end.  I am really proud of our team and players.  We had to battle through some adversity, but I am thankful our guys come to practice every day ready to work.”

Wyatt Lohaus was the scoring leader for the Panthers (16-15), notching 15 points.  Hunter Rhodes scored 14.  Bennett Koch and Klint Carlson each had solid games for UNI.  Koch had 8 points and 11 rebounds while Carlson finished with 9 tallies and 10 caroms.

Duane Gibson had a great start to the game as he finished the first half with 12 of the Aces 24 points.  UNI scored the first five points of the game including a triple by Hunter Rhodes.  Blake Simmons got Evansville on the board with a bucket at the 18:12 mark.

A hot start for the Panthers continued as they connected on two of their first three field goals to begin the game and take a 7-2 lead.  Back-to-back Gibson buckets cut the Evansville deficit to one at 7-6.  UNI used the 3-point shot to push its lead up to seven with Austin Phyfe and Tywhon Pickford each draining one to make it a 15-8 game with 12 minutes left in the period.

UNI continued to lead by at least two possessions until the final two minutes when the fifth shot of the game found the bottom of the net for Gibson to cut the deficit to three at 25-22.  The Panthers punched back to push the lead to nine – the game-high to that point – thanks to an and-one from Klint Carlson.  Dru Smith hit a bucket in the final seconds to make it a 31-24 game in favor of UNI at the break.

Aces junior Ryan Taylor was held scoreless in the first half and the team tried to get him on the board early in the second half as he took the first three shots.  None were able to find the bottom of the net and UNI took advantage, pushing the lead to 10 on a Bennett Koch bucket two minutes in.

Taylor knocked down his first shot at the 15:15 mark to get the Aces within six – 34-28.  Wyatt Lohaus helped the Panthers push their lead back to double figures midway through the second half when his shot made it a 42-30 game.  The first triple of the day for the Aces was a big one by Dru Smith that cut the lead back to single digits.

With under seven minutes remaining, Smith’s free throws made it a 7-point game.  The deficit for UE remained between 7 and 9 points until a Lohaus trey pushed their lead to 51-39 with 4:14 on the clock.  Their lead remained in double figures for the remainder of the contest as the Panthers finished with a 60-50 win.

The Panthers shot 40.4% for the game while holding the Aces to 38.2%.  Evansville finished the first half at 42.3%, but dropped to 34.5% in the second stanza.

Tonight’s game marked the final for seniors Gibson, Blake Simmons, and Dalen Traore.  After the game, Gibson commented on his career.

“Everything went by so fast.  It was a very special time for me.  I am extremely appreciative of the opportunity that I had,” he said.

 

More Concerns Raised About Indiana’s Child Welfare Agency

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IL for www.theindianalawyer.com

A state consultant says Indiana’s child welfare agency is facing a shortage of mental health and substance abuse treatment services, as well as attorneys.

The Child Welfare Policy and Practice Group on Thursday released an interim report about the Department of Child Services, which has been under additional scrutiny since former director Mary Beth Bonaventura resigned in December and accused Gov. Eric Holcomb’s administration of spending cuts that “all but ensure children will die.”

The consultants say the problems found are also typical in other states, although they found the number of Indiana children placed in out-of-home care is double the national average rate.

The consultants hired by Holcomb say they’ll seek an interview with Bonaventura, who was hired by Attorney General Curtis Hill shortly after her departure from DCS.The consultants’ final report is expected to be released in June. While that study has been undertaken, lawmakers introduced more than a dozen DCS-related bills this session.

Holcomb creates office to expand work-based learning for more Hoosiers in more industries

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Gov. Eric J. Holcomb today signed an executive order creating an Office of Apprenticeships & Work-Based Learning to help more people skill-up for good paying jobs with Indiana companies. The new state office will work to double the number of Hoosiers who participate in apprenticeships or other work-based learning programs by 2020 and will expand these valuable opportunities for both students and working adult Hoosiers in a more diverse range of industry sectors.

“With more than 80,000 open jobs around the state, we can’t wait for students to get out of school to fill them. We need to skill-up working adults as quickly as possible,” Gov. Holcomb said. “That’s why expanding opportunities for working adults, in particular, is so critical—because they need to ability to work and earn money while they learn the skills they need to enter a new career in a high-wage, high-demand field. This office makes this possible.”

The governor signed the executive order at Terre Haute-based Stark Industries, a high-tech CNC machining company that has made workforce development a priority. The company provides internships and other work-based learning opportunities for students and working adults.

“For several years now, Stark Industries has been proactively working with K-12 school districts, three different colleges and universities, and our local WorkOne office to put together several work-and-learn opportunities for both students and adults. The work-and-learn model simply works,” said Jeff Stark, CEO of Stark Industries. “We believe the added structure at the state level for apprenticeships and work-based learning will help companies like Stark overcome their shortages of human capital. That’s positive for both our company’s growth and our local economy.”

To boost apprenticeship programs for working adults, the Office of Apprenticeship & Work-Based Learning will work with the U.S. Department of Labor to enhance and expand federally approved apprenticeships. Beyond apprenticeships, the office will work closely with Indiana businesses and education providers to build more relevant work-based learning programs in emerging industries for a more diverse population of Hoosiers.

Finally, the office will work to better communicate and connect Hoosiers with apprenticeships and work-based learning opportunities around the state.

“As I travel around the state talking with Indiana businesses, I hear from many of them that finding skilled employees is a top concern to sustain and grow their companies,” Gov. Holcomb said. “This new office will create more work-based experiences that align industry needs with relevant skills training—with the ultimate goal of getting more Hoosiers into good jobs right now while preparing young people for tomorrow’s economy.”

 

ADOPT A PET

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Gabby is a 1-year-old female Basenji mix. Her adoption fee is $110 and includes her spay, microchip, vaccines, and more. Contact Vanderburgh Humane at (812) 426-2563 for details!

Blake Simmons named to MVC Scholar-Athlete Team

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Senior set to complete UE career

  Always known for being a steady performer in the classroom and on the floor, University of Evansville senior Blake Simmons was named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Team on Thursday.

Simmons has done exceptionally well in the classroom, standing with a 3.86 GPA as a Marketing major.

On the floor, Simmons has had his best year after recovering from a knee injury that forced him to miss all of last season.  He has started 30 games for the Purple Aces and paced the MVC with 35.8 minutes per game.

For the first time in his career, Simmons is averaging double figures as he finished the regular season with 10.6 points per game.  He also ranked in the top ten in the league in 3-point shooting.  Simmons tied his career mark with 18 points in wins over Austin Peay and Midway before posting the first double-double of his career in the home win over UNI as he recorded 15 points and 15 rebounds.

 

The Gun Debate

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Messer Urges Tillerson to Expedite Embassy Move to Jerusalem

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As the United States prepares to move its Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, Rep. Luke Messer (IN-06) today urged Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to consider ways to expedite the process and save taxpayer dollars.

Messer sent a letter to Tillerson, asking him to allow private citizens to help pay for some of the relocating costs if they choose. Allowing citizens to contribute would save some taxpayer dollars and show strong support for Israel.

“President Trump is right to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to its true capital, Jerusalem,” Messer said. “By allowing private donations to cover some of these costs, we can save taxpayer money and enable citizens to show their support for relocating the U.S. Embassy to Israel’s capital. Our letter to Secretary Tillerson shows he has our support in taking action to help President Trump deliver on this important effort.”

Under current law, the State Department “may accept on behalf of the United States gifts made unconditionally by will or otherwise for the benefit of the Department of State (including the Foreign Service) or for the carrying out of any of its functions.”

The letter states that “allowing these donations could help offset the cost of the facility and expedite the process of relocating the Embassy.”

President Trump announced in December the U.S. Embassy in Israel would be moving from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

In December, Messer strongly supported President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and begin the process of moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

 

Aces softball heads to WKU for weekend tournament

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Aces open play on Friday

 This weekend, the University of Evansville softball team stays a bit closer to home as the Purple Aces head south to Bowling Green, Ky. for the Hilltopper Spring Fling.

UE will take on Austin Peay, Dayton and host Western Kentucky in the tournament, which runs from Friday through Sunday.  Evansville looks to halt a 10-game losing streak after starting the season at 2-1.

The offense for UE played much better in Chattanooga over the weekend, averaging 5.3 runs per game in the final three contests of the tournament.  A pair of close games did not go the Aces way as they dropped a 9-6 game to Eastern Illinois in nine innings before falling by a 6-5 final to host Chattanooga in eight innings.  Evansville’s top three hitters in the tournament were freshmen as Allison Daggett batted .357 while Elyse Hickey and Eryn Gould batted .313 and .286, respectively.  Senior Brittany Hay blasted a pair of home runs in the 5-game tourney.

The top hitter through the first three weeks for UE has been freshman Eryn Gould, who was named the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week on February 12 after batting .600 at the Mardi Gras Classic.  For the season, Gould is batting a team-high .378 while leading the team with two triples, 14 hits while tying Brittany Hay’s eight runs scored.  Gould has added six walks on her way to reaching base 48.9% of the time.

The youth movement for the Aces continued at the Frost Classic as UE’s freshmen accounted for 12 of the teams 16 runs scored.  Allison Daggett went 5-for-14 in the tournament to bat a team-high .357.  Daggett heads to Bowling Green riding a 5-game hit streak as she upped her batting average from .118 to .226 on the trip to Chattanooga.

Elyse Hickey notched five hits in 16 plate appearances last weekend to up her season average to .214; she scored three runs and walked on three occasions at the Frost Classic.  Hickey was 1-for-12 to start the season, but has notched five hits in the last 16 at-bats.  Lindsay Renneisen checks in with a .189 batting average, but has been productive in other ways, reaching base 30.2% of the time while notching three home runs, 7 RBI and seven runs scored.  Daggett, Gould and Renneisen have started all 13 of the Aces games thus far.

Leading Evansville with 12 RBI is senior Brittany Hay.  She recorded a pair of home runs at the Frost Classic while hitting .278 and accumulating 11 total bases in the tournament.  After playing in the infield last season, Hay has made the start in the outfield in all 13 games of the 2018 campaign.  She currently has a 3-game hit streak and has notched a hit in 9 of the 13 games this year.

 

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