Aces will be back in action on Sunday at Wichita State

 

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Kerri Gasper couldn’t have done much more for the University of Evansville women’s basketball team on Friday night, but her efforts proved not quite enough as the Purple Aces dropped a 77-70 decision to Missouri State at JQH Arena.

Gasper, a freshman out of Olmsted Township, Ohio, was nearly perfect from the field in the contest, ending 9-for-10, which included a 4-for-5 showing from beyond the arc. Prior to the 22-point outburst, Gasper was averaging just over five points per game.

“When I made those first shots, it started to build my confidence,” Gasper said. “I think tonight will help us going into the rest of conference play. We didn’t get the win, but we can all build off of this, myself included. Hopefully it will get better and better.”

While Gasper’s night was certainly remarkable, she would be outscored by teammate Sara Dickey, who racked up another 25 points. The junior guard shot 8-for-17 from the field, knocking down three treys and going a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.

Also starring for the Aces (2-15, 1-5 MVC), were Sasha Robinson, who pulled down a game-best 10 rebounds, and Kenyia Johnson, who finished with six points and seven boards.

Despite the star showing of both Gasper and Dickey, MSU (12-7, 5-2 MVC) was able to lean on the trio of Tyonna Snow, Kenzie Williams and Hillary Chvatal to secure the win. Both Snow and Williams racked up 17 while combining for nine boards, six assists and five steals, and Chvatal added 13 points and seven rebounds.

In a game where the Aces proved unable to close the gap closer than seven points, it was the first quarter that ultimately made the difference. After taking an early lead, UE was out-scored 20-10 in the frame before going on to out-score the hosts 60-57 over the final 30 minutes.

The Aces will be back in action on Sunday as they pay a visit to Wichita State. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.

(Evansville offense explodes for six goals against Swamp Rabbits in first of six straight road games.)

 

Records:  Evansville: 14-19-3-1; Greenville: 19-17-6-0

Goalies:   GRN – Skapski (L), 2-6-2-0, 20 saves

EVN – Reichard (W), 4-3-0-0, 33 saves

Scoring:

1^st Period: 1. GRN – Donnay 1 (unassisted, 6:13)

2^nd Period:  2. EVN – Rumble 4 (Hobbs, Duco, 4:37); 3. EVN – Duco 5 (Humphries, Strandberg, 11:47); 4. EVN – Rumble 5 (unassisted, 18:03)

3^rd Period:  5. EVN – Rumble 6 (Strandberg, Moon, 5:08); 6. GRN – Saponari 2 (PP, Nejezchleb, Rashid, 7:33); 7. EVN – Hobbs 4 (unassisted, 11:32); 8. EVN – Dunn 6 (Carlsson, Zay, 12:28); 9. GRN – Nejezchleb 7 (Saponari, Fleming, 19:00)

GREENVILLE, SC – The Evansville IceMen started a six game road trip Friday with a 6-3 win over the Greenville Swamp Rabbits at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, behind the first career hat-trick from defenseman Chris Rumble.

Both goaltenders, Cody Reichard for Evansville and Mackenzie Skapski for Greenville, made two or three huge saves in the opening period. The Swamp Rabbits, however, scored first when Troy Donnay dumped a puck that was going wide of the IceMen net before it ricocheted off of an Evansville stick and into the net 6:13 into the game. Rumble had the best scoring chance for the IceMen, but rang a wrist shot off the post behind Skapski.

Right after jumping out of the penalty box, Rumble joined a 3-on-1 rush and buried a rebound to tie the game early in the second period. The IceMen then took the lead, when Mike Duco ripped a one-timer past the blocker of Skapski from the right circle right after an Evansville power play ended.

Late in the frame, Rumble picked the pocket of a Swamp Rabbits forward at the IceMen blue line and skated in on a long breakaway. Rumble lifted a backhander into the net for his first career two-goal game to give Evansville a 3-1 lead after two periods.

The rookie defenseman from Buffalo, NY struck a third time when a rebound hopped up in the air and bounced off his pads before going in the net. It was Rumble’s first professional hat-trick in his first game as a forward, as the IceMen led 4-1 early in the third period.

Greenville cut the lead to two when Vinny Saponari tapped in a centering pass from the edge of the crease on a power play, but Evansville answered back when Danny Hobbs capitalized on a Swamp Rabbits turnover and fired a shot under the blocker of Skapski to make it 5-2. Vincent Dunn then tipped a Jonathan Carlsson shot into the net 56 seconds later to expand the league, as the IceMen cruised to victory. Richard Nejezchleb scored in the final minute for Greenville, but Reichard stopped 33 shots in the 6-3 win.

The IceMen continue the road trip south to Duluth, GA for a 7:05pm EST start Saturday against the Atlanta Gladiators. The game will be broadcast onwww.evansvilleicemen.com and ECHL TV (away audio), with coverage starting at 5:50pm. Evansville then travels to Independence, MO for a Tuesday night showdown with the Missouri Mavericks, before heading to Wichita Wednesday night.

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UPCOMING HOME GAMES

Sat. 2/6 – Rapid City at Evansville (7:15pm) – Ford Center

Crowns and Capes Night

Tues. 2/9 – Fort Wayne at Evansville (6:15pm) – Ford Center

Fat Tuesday

Fri. 2/12 – Kalamazoo at Evansville (7:15pm) – Ford Center

Old National Bank Youth Backpack Giveaway

Sun. 2/14 – Cincinnati at Evansville (6:15pm) – Ford Center

Heart Night – Valentine’s Day

 

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DOMINO’S 4-GAME HAT PACK

Choose any four IceMen home games and get a FREE limited edition IceMen hat and a large 1-topping Domino’s pizza, starting at only $17 per ticket. Call the IceMen front office at 812-421-GOAL (4625) for details.

Visit us at www.evansvilleicemen.com, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter @EvvIceMen for more information about your hometown professional hockey team.