EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville women’s basketball team fought until the final buzzer in a close 81-74 loss to the IUPUI Jaguars.
It was a career night for graduate center Barbora Tomancova against IUPUI as she set career highs on both offense and defense. With 27 points, 19 rebounds, an assist, and a block over 31 minutes, Tomancova led the Purple Aces to come within a possession of the Jaguars. UE also had two other players score in double figures while freshman forward Maggie Hartwig had a career-high four blocks.
“There were a lot of positives to take from the game, but we put IUPUI on the free throw line too many times in the fourth quarter,†said Head Coach Robyn Scherr-Wells following the game. “It’s tough losing so many close games that have been a possession with two minutes left. It hurts but we’ll keep working hard to get better and fight for wins,â€.
Evansville fell behind early on Wednesday night and couldn’t dig themselves out of the deficit in the first 10 minutes. A two-minute scoreless stretch had UE down by six, but a successful and-1 play from point guard Kynidi Mason Striverson made it only a one-possession game. Only free throws were made in the final two and a half minutes of the quarter as the Aces trailed 19-13.
UE got within one early in the second quarter as the teams traded buckets. But an eight-point run from the Jaguars with under six minutes in the half kept Evansville from finding a sustained offensive push. The Aces deficit grew to double digits in the final five minutes as they headed into halftime down 10.
But UE didn’t go down without a fight in the second half, cutting IUPUI’s lead to five within the first four minutes of the third. Evansville trailed by double-digits again in the quarter with 3:16 left on the clock. The team responded with six points in the final three minutes to bring it down to a seven-point game with a quarter left.
The Aces came out hot in the fourth quarter led by Tomancova as they chipped away at the Jaguars’ lead. A seven-point run in less than a minute from Mason Striverson and guard Madline Gerke made it a one-possession game with almost seven minutes to go. IUPUI stayed in the game with attempts at the line but momentum was all UE’s way as Tomancova had a layup and free throws in back-to-back possessions.
It was traded free throws for the next three minutes as Evansville kept getting the deficit down to one. With 2:42 left on the clock, Hartwig put in a layup off a turnover to tie the game. The Aces got the ball back on the next play thanks to a baseline foul from the Jaguars. But three missed shots in a row and three made shots for IUPUI ended UE’s fourth-quarter comeback with an 81-75 loss.
UE gets a week and a half off until its next game at Meeks Family Fieldhouse. Evansville will welcome the Lindenwood Lions to town on Saturday, Dec. 16. Tip-off for next week’s game is set for 2 p.m.
