CHICAGO, Ill. - The University of Evansville women’s basketball team got off to a hot start, but was cooled-off in the second quarter in an 82-63 loss to Loyola in Chicago, Ill. on Sunday afternoon.

“The first quarter wasn’t too bad. We gave them some easy looks and some things they shouldn’t have, but that second quarter is unacceptable,” said Aces head coach Matt Ruffing. “Credit to Kate (Achter) and her staff. They got their kids to play harder than we did and that’s something we’ve seen over and over and over again.”

Junior guard Kerri Gasper (15) and redshirt sophomore guard Marley Miller (14) combined for 29 points to lead the Aces while freshman guard Kayla Casteel added 13 points for UE. Gasper came within range of a triple-double, tallying seven boards and five assists to go along with her 15 points. For the Ramblers, Jessica Cerda paced Loyola with 16 points, all coming in the opening half.

Miller got Evansville off to a fast start as the Olney, Ill. native scored the Aces’ first five points and put UE ahead 5-2 in the opening two minutes. After Loyola pushed back with an 8-0 spree to take a 10-5 lead, sophomore guard Macie Lively drained a jumper and Miller got involved again with her second triple to tie the game at 10. A heavily contested first quarter ended with a pair of Rambler free throws that gave Loyola a narrow 19-17 advantage.

Loyola controlled much of the second quarter as the Ramblers utilized a 16-2 run in the first six minutes of the period to open up a 16-point 35-19 lead. Gasper helped stop the run with a pair of free throws under the three minute mark in the frame, but Loyola closed the quarter with an 8-0 run to take a 43-21 lead into the halftime break.
The Aces offense got going once again in the third quarter as Evansville cut its deficit to 19 twice in the first three minutes of the period. It was the Ramblers who once again had an answer as Loyola manufactured a 6-0 run to push its lead to 24 at 51-27 with 4:55 left in the quarter. With 53 second left in the frame, Casteel splashed home a three-pointer to trim Loyola’s lead to 17 before the Ramblers responded with five-straight points to grab a 22-point advantage. In the final seconds of the quarter, Casteel hit her second triple of the game as the Aces headed into the fourth quarter trailing 64-45.

In the fourth period, Evansville got its deficit as low as 18 on two separate occasions, but each time Loyola responded. Two free-throws by Gasper trimmed the Ramblers’ lead to 75-57 with 2:20 left in the contest, but Abby O’Connor hit a three in response as Loyola earned the 82-63 win.

The Aces were out-shot by the Ramblers in the game, 50% (33-66) to 38.5% (20-52), while Loyola won the rebounding battle, 40-28.

Evansville returns home to battle Indiana State on February 2 at 7 p.m. in the Aces’ annual Play 4 Kay game.

University of Southern Indiana Women’s Indoor Track & Field had many strong performances in running events Friday and Saturday at the UIndy Tom Hathaway Distance Classic in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Senior Melina Gryschka (Garbsen, Germany) won the 600 meters in one minute, 43.31 seconds. Freshman Amanda Moore (Farmersburg, Indiana) gave USI the top two spots, finishing in 1:47.90. Moore also had a top 10 in the 400 meters.

The Screaming Eagles were also successful in the 800 meters, taking three of the top five spots. Freshman Ashley Lawhorn (Frankfort, Kentucky) finished second in 2:32.95, with junior Sarah Hamilton(Chandler, Indiana) and senior Kate Duty (Owensboro, Kentucky) finishing within two tenths of a second of each other in fourth and fifth, respectively.

In the mile run, the Eagles placed five runners in the top 10, with junior Hope Jones (Cumberland, Indiana) leading the way with a second place finish in 5:16.88. Senior Jessica Lincoln (Palatine, Illinois) also earned a top five in 5:18.93.

After five top 10s in the mile, USI bested that with six top 10s in the 3000 meters. Junior Kate Henrickson(Boonville, Indiana), freshman Jennifer Comastri (Indianapolis, Indiana), and senior Bryce Cutler(Benzonia, Michigan) finished second, third, and fourth, respectively, with Henrickson coming in with a time of 10:38.14.

USI also took second and third in the distance medley relay.

The Eagles will next be in action Friday at the Tiger Small College Invitational hosted by DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.

University of Southern Indiana Men’s Indoor Track & Field senior Bastian Grau (Höchstadt, Germany) and sophomore Austin Nolan (Evansville, Indiana) each picked up their first wins of the season at the UIndy Tom Hathaway Distance Classic this weekend in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Grau took first in the 800 meters, finishing with a time of one minute, 57.70 seconds. Also in the 800 meters, junior Darius Payne (Louisville, Kentucky) crossed the line in fifth in 2:02.76.

Nolan led three Screaming Eagles in the top six of the mile, completing the event in 4:23.78. He bested teammate sophomore Nathan Hall (Springfield, Missouri) by .08 seconds, as Hall came in second in 4:23.86. Senior Cain Parker (Petersburg, Indiana) finished sixth.

The Eagles took the top two spots in the distance medley relay, with the team of Grau, Almustapha Silvester (Indianapolis, Indiana), freshman Arie Macias (Godfrey, Illinois), and Hall bringing home the win in 10:19.27.

Freshman sprinter Andrew Pierce (Muncie, Indiana) also had a successful meet, finishing fifth in the 60 meters and sixth in the 200 meters. He had a time of 7.24 seconds in the 60 meters and 23.89 seconds in the 200 meters.

In the field, freshman Tyrell Nickelson (English, Indiana) grabbed a pair of top three finishes, taking second in the high jump and third in the triple jump. He jumped a height of six feet, 2.75 inches in the high jump, while going for 39’6″ in the triple jump.

The Eagles will next be in action Friday at the Tiger Small College Invitational hosted by DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.