Beth Csukas to be recognized at First Responder Day
Event set for UE softball game on March 26

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Just over a year ago, former Purple Aces student-athlete Beth Csukas suffered a serious automobile accident that would forever change her life. Faced with an uphill battle, Csukas battled every day to overcome the setback and showed the attitude of a champion. On March 26, Csukas will be honored for her efforts by the Missouri Valley Conference as she will be presented with the MVC Most Courageous Award.

Csukas will be presented with the award as part of First Responder Day in conjunction with the University of Evansville softball game against Bradley at Cooper Stadium. All first responders (firefighters, EMT’s, police officers, paramedics, etc.) will receive two free tickets to the game with the proper first responder ID.

Special pricing will also be enacted for the game on March 26. Adult admission will be just $5 while seniors and youth tickets are $3. The award presentation will take place at 11:45 a.m. in Cooper Stadium with the softball contest following at noon.

“This is going to be a great day that will celebrate what Beth Csukas has meant to the University of Evansville and the Evansville community as a whole,” UE Senior Associate Athletic Director Sarah Solinsky said. “We are excited to have her back on campus and recognize the courage she has shown.”

Csukas was a 2-sport athlete with the Aces. She spent time playing with the softball and women’s soccer squads in her time at the university. After graduation, she stayed in the Evansville area and was a firefighter in the community.

“Beth has been an active alum at UE and has done a great job of serving the community, March 26 will be a chance for all of us to give a little bit back to her,” Solinsky added.

Three other recipients of the Most Courageous Award have come from the University of Evansville. Former Sports Information Director Bob Boxell received the award in 2009 while women’s soccer play Abby Guerra was a 2010 recipient and Kwame James got it in 2002.

The Missouri Valley Conference presents the Most Courageous Award to a past or present student-athlete, coach or university administrator who demonstrates unusual courage in the face of personal illness, adversity or tragedy and whose behavior reflects honor on the institution or the Conference. Individuals receiving the award might also have performed heroic feats or otherwise inspired others.

ACES LOOK TO CONTINUE WIN STEAK AT CARBONDALE

The University of Evansville men’s basketball team will look to make history on Saturday as they look for their 4^th-consecutive road win over Southern Illinois on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Carbondale.

Last season, the Purple Aces earned an 85-78 overtime win at SIU Arena, marking the third road win in a row over SIU.  That matched a streak from 1996-98.

Tomorrow’s contest can be streamed live on ESPN3 while a live broadcast is available at www.WUEV.org.

For the first time this season, the Purple Aces won back-to-back MVC games, topping Loyola by a final of 60-58 on Wednesday night at the Ford Center.  Ryan Taylor paced the squad with 16 points while Jaylon Brown and Dru Smith finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Evansville led by as many as 15 in the opening moments of the second half, but the Ramblers stormed back to take a lead of their own before the UE defense clamped down, holding Loyola without a field goal for six minutes to clinch the win.  Turnovers played a large role in the win as UE turned 17 Rambler turnovers into 19 points.

Turnovers have played a large role for UE this season; in its wins, the Aces are +4.3 in the turnover battle while its losses have seen UE finish at -0.3 in turnovers.  When UE finishes with more points off turnovers this season, UE is 9-3; when the opposition wins the battle, the Aces are 3-10.  In the recent 2-game win streak, the Aces have averaged six fewer turnovers per game than its opponents.

The UE defense has clamped down in the final five minutes over the last two games, both wins; the opposition has shot 18.2% (2-11) in the last five minutes of the two wins while the Aces shot 75% (9-12).  In the 9-game losing streak, the opposition hit 29 out of 44 attempts (65.9%) while the Aces shot 34.9% (22-63).

With a 14-12 overall record and a 7-6 league mark, Southern Illinois sits in a tie for third place in the Missouri Valley Conference.  On Wednesday, SIU dropped a 49-41 defensive battle at UNI as Leo Vincent was the top scorer with 9 points while Sean O’Brien notched 8 points and 12 rebounds.

Mike Rodriguez is the top threat for SIU, scoring 13 points per game while also leading the squad with 113 assists and 34 steals.  Armon Fletcher enters Saturday’s game with 12.6 PPG with O’Brien checking in at 12.0; he is also their top rebounder with 8.2 per game.  Rodriguez was the leader of the pack in January’s match-up, leading all scorers with 20 points as he hit 9 out of 13 free throws.

On January 15, the Salukis picked up a 73-61 win at the Ford Center to move the all-time series to a 68-53 tally in their favor.  UE is 16-41 in road contests against SIU, but has won in its last three trips to Carbondale; the program has never won four consecutive road games in the series.