The Purple Aces will celebrate the annual event at Saturday’s game
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — The University of Evansville women’s basketball team finishes its three-game home stand with a special game on Saturday evening.
The Purple Aces will be celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day during their game Saturday against the Bradley Braves. To celebrate, UE Athletics is hosting a clinic with area girls to introduce them to sports offered at Evansville. The girls will also get to see the game against Bradley for free and receive autographs from the team afterward.
The Braves come into Saturday’s game with a 5-15 overall record and a 1-8 conference record. Bradley’s lone MVC win came against Southern Illinois in mid-January on a last-second shot from junior guard Nika Dorsey. The Braves are coming off a loss to Northern Iowa 105-59. Freshman Halli Poock led Bradley in points with 19 and dished out 4 assists. Senior Isis Fitch led the Braves on defense with five rebounds and finished second on offense with 13 points.
Despite a fast first half on offense, Evansville was not able to pick up its first Missouri Valley Conference win in a Sunday afternoon match up with the Valparaiso Beacons. Only 26.5% shooting in the second half stifled UE in the 70-59 loss. While the Aces’ overall offense struggled over the weekend, three players scored in double-figures on Sunday afternoon. Guard Madlena Gerke, forward Nevaeh Thomas, and center Barbora Tomancova combined for 37 of Evansville’s 59 points against the Beacons’ defense.
Since returning to the lineup from a foot fracture in January, freshman forward Nevaeh Thomas has been an offensive leader for UE. Thomas is currently on a six-game double-figure scoring streak dating back to her return on January 14th. Along with her scoring streak, Thomas set a career-high in steals against Valpo with two in 27 minutes of action.
Junior guard Madlena Gerke had a season-best game on Sunday in the Aces contest with Valparaiso. Gerke became a focal point for Evansville’s offense as she led UE at the free throw line. She set a season-high in points in 37 minutes with 12, coming just a basket shy of her career-high. Gerke did set one career-high with six made free throws on seven attempts.
