The Purple Aces led on the offensive glass with 10 boards
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – With only seven active players, the University of Evansville women’s basketball team faced a battle in an 86-53 loss to the Drake Bulldogs.
Three Purple Aces ended Thursday evening’s game in double-figures while center Barbora Tomancova had her fifth double-double of the season. But it wouldn’t be enough for UE to get past the regular season champion Drake Bulldogs in the 33-point loss. Evansville did have a strong defensive game despite the score with 38 rebounds, three blocks, and drawing nine fouls.
Both teams had a tough offensive outing in the first quarter. A shot was made for each team in the first two minutes, but it was Drake who took the early lead on an eight-point run. A three-point play by forward Nevaeh Thomas got UE’s offense back into the game. The Bulldogs responded with two field goals to quickly make it a double-digit deficit. Evansville headed into the second quarter down by 11 as neither team could score in the final three and a half minutes of the first.
The Aces had a similar start to the second, not making a basket until it was past the two-minute mark. UE began to make it a back-and-forth game with just under six minutes to go in the half after Drake pulled out to a 21-point lead. Evansville’s best scoring runs came in the second with back-to-back layups. It was the last run of the half for either team as both again struggled to make shots in the final minutes of the second. Thomas had a second three-point stretch in the final minute of the first half. But a last-second three made by the Bulldogs still had the Aces down by 18.
In contrast to the first half, UE’s offense had the first bucket of the second as Thomas made another layup. But Evansville had a two-minute cold spell following that was broken by guard Kynidi Mason Striverson in the paint. Drake responded with another quick run that was stopped when Tomancova drew a foul and split her free throws. The Aces had another four-point run as guard Sydney Bradley had back-to-back jump shots. The final five minutes of the third quarter were mostly back-and-forth baskets until the final minute when the Bulldogs made two layups to keep UE down by 24 going into the fourth.
The shot-for-shot pace continued to start the third quarter. But Drake pulled away as guard Katie Dinnebier made four straight shots. Mason Striverson ended the streak with her third three of the game. The three sparked a rash of treys for the Bulldogs, forcing an Evansville timeout with six minutes to go. It took almost two minutes out of the timeout for either team to score, but the Aces broke through as Bradley made only her second three of the season. But a six-point run for Drake gave UE its largest deficit of the game at 37. Evansville found three more layups in the final two and a half minutes ending the 86-53 loss.
Thomas led the Aces on offense with 14 points while Mason Striverson was right behind with 13. Tomancova also finished the game in double-digits with 11 while leading UE in rebounds with 10 boards after a month away from the court. Freshman guard Sydney Bradley also set a career-high against the Bulldogs, scoring seven points in 26 minutes of action.
Evansville’s final game of the season is set for Saturday afternoon against the Northern Iowa Panthers. The Aces will celebrate their two senior players, Tomancova and guard Lexie Sinclair before the regular season finale. Tip-off for UE against the Panthers on March 9 is set for 2 p.m.
