EVANSVILLE – Powered by the trio of Feit, Griffin, and Newman, the University of Evansville women’s basketball team battled back in the fourth quarter to force overtime and eventually capture a 68-65 win over UIC on Friday evening inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
The Aces were led by three upperclassmen in senior guard/forward Abby Feit, fifth-year guard A’Niah Griffin, and graduate guard Anna Newman. The trio combined for 62 of Evansville’s 68 points on the night with Feit leading the way with 26 points and eight boards, scoring 23 points in the second half and overtime. Griffin also reached the 20-point mark, adding a season-best seven rebounds, while Newman finished just one off tying a career-high with 16 points in her first game back after missing the previous three games due to an injury. While not scoring, redshirt junior Celine Dupont contributed to the win, grabbing eight boards and swatting three shots in her 27 minutes on the floor. The Flames were led by Sara Zabrecky, who finished with 17 points, knocking down five three-pointers.
Getting off to an efficient start, Evansville grabbed a 10-7 lead, fueled by five points from Griffin, before hitting the midway point of the opening quarter. UIC would lock-in defensively down the stretch of the first quarter, edging in front to take a 14-12 lead.
A defensively dominated second quarter saw an evenly played contest continue with each side scoring just 11 points in the second frame. Evansville was hampered much of the first half by foul trouble with Abby Feit, who picked-up two fouls in the opening half and played just nine minutes in the first two periods as the Aces went to the half trailing by just two at 25-23.
After a Feit layup tied the game at 25 just 11 seconds into the second half, UIC went on a run that would give the Flames a double-figure advantage. A 15-2 spree for UIC that concluded with 6:25 left in the third with the Flames owning a 40-27 lead and resulted in an Evansville timeout. The break seemed to make a difference for the Aces, who responded with a run of its own to chip back within six at 45-39 going into the fourth.
Evansville’s furious battle back into the contest continued in the fourth quarter with three-straight triples pushing the Aces in front for the first time since the opening period at 53-51 with less than two minutes left in regulation. The Aces lead would grow as large as five with 1:46 left in the period, but UIC made a late run in return. Back-to-back banked-in threes from Zabrecky lifted UIC back in front at 58-57 with just 18 seconds remaining, but Newman was able to drive to the basket and get to the line, splitting a pair and tying the game at 58, sending the contest into overtime.
In overtime, Evansville quickly took control with triples from Griffiin and Feit that pushed UE back up by five in the first extra period. UIC was not within a final push, cutting to within three inside the final minute and forcing a held ball that gave the Flames back possession in the final seconds. Looking to repeat her performance from the end of regulation, Zabrecky had two looks from deep before the buzzer, but could not get either to fall as Evansville grabbed the 68-65 win.
Evansville closes the weekend with a matchup with Valparaiso in its Play4Kay game at 1 PM on Sunday afternoon inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
