Two 19-point quarters helped lead the Purple Aces to a win
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — The University of Evansville women’s basketball team won its first game at Meeks Family Fieldhouse in a 65-63 victory over the Wright State Raiders.
The Purple Aces led by as much as 12 points on Sunday afternoon in their narrow win over the Raiders. Sophomore forward Maggie Hartwig (Sauk City, Wis. / Sauk Praire HS) led the team on both sides of the ball with 24 points and 14 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. Freshmen guards Camryn Runner (Cicero, Ind. / Hamilton Heights HS) and Kylee Norkus (Naperville, Ill. / Neuqua Valley HS) also scored in double figures for the second straight game.
“I’m really really proud of our team,” said Head Coach Robyn Scherr after the game. “We showed such growth from our first game to this game, especially on the defensive end. We really did a good job of managing the game for three and a half quarters. And luckily we built a good enough lead going into that fourth quarter that we were able to hang on.
“I was just really proud of our kids for making those plays at the end. Grabbing big rebounds and making big plays when they could have hung their heads because we let them get back into the game. I’m just so pleased. This is a group of winners and we’re only going to get better from here.”
It was a back-and-forth battle for most of the first quarter in Meeks Family FIeldhouse. Neither team put together a run until six minutes in when Wright State had its largest lead of the game after scoring five straight points. But UE found its offensive rhythm in the final three minutes with the last 10 points of the first. Evansville held a narrow three-point lead heading into the second frame.
The Raiders had the first bucket of the second quarter but back-to-back made baskets for the Aces put themselves two scores in front. UE matched every shot Wright State took and then some through the quarter. Evansville grew its lead to eight points twice including with a minute left in the first half. Runner had the last point of the half as the Aces went into the break up 36-29.
The second half began slowly for both teams as it took over two minutes for either side to score. The Raiders opened up the scoring for the third quarter in a row, but a four-point and three-point run for UE kept them ahead through the first five minutes. The final five minutes of the third was mostly a back-and-forth pace. In the last minute and a half of the quarter a second chance layup for Norkus and a three for Hartwig had Evansville up by 11.
Hartwig scored another trey for the Aces early in the fourth quarter to keep the double-digit lead intact. After a free throw by Runner with just over eight minutes on the clock UE had its largest lead of the game at 12 points. Wright State began to chip into the lead with a five-point run. But a third three for Hartwig once again made it a double-digit game.
Over the next minute it was again traded shots between Evansville and the Raiders. But Wright State put together a nine-point run in the final four minutes to get within one of the Aces. With over a minute on the clock and two players fouled out, UE was able to get three defensive rebounds and make another free throw for the 65-63 win.
Evansville led in most statistical categories on Sunday including shooting percentage, rebounds, assists, and points in the paint. The Aces were 21-58 from the floor for 36.2% while going 20 of 26 from the line. It was also the second straight game for UE with over 40 rebounds as Evansville grabbed 49 boards.
The Aces continue their two game homestand later this week. SEMO will visit the River City for a midweek matchup on Thursday evening. Tip-off on Thursday, November 14th is set for 6 p.m.
