Short-handed Aces fall to Missouri State
The Purple Aces had only seven players active on Friday night
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – With only two available forwards the University of Evansville women’s basketball team could not keep up with the Missouri State Lady Bears in an 84-57 loss.
The Purple Aces freshman led the way in their return to Meeks Family Fieldhouse on Friday night. But with only seven active players UE was not able to contain Missouri State’s offense from putting together several major runs. Freshman point guard Avery Kelley (Evansville, Ind. / Memorial HS) was Evansville’s offensive leader with a career-high 18 points followed closely by freshman guard Logan Leubbers Palmer (Union, Ky. / Randall K. Cooper HS) with her own career-high of 15 points.
“Having only seven players available I’m really proud of how hard our kids fought,” said Head Coach Robyn Scherr after the game. “It was a pretty small lineup for us with not a lot of post players available. I thought we had some really good moments. That being said, we’re out here to win. I’m disappointed because I thought we were in decent shape a quarter and a half in. And then we just didn’t close the second quarter well. We’ve got to figure out a way to start doing that better. Against good teams, you have to limit those runs and we need to figure out how to do that.
The Aces won the tip to begin a defensive-focused first quarter. The Lady Bears put together a quick seven-point run to take the early lead and soon had a double-digit lead two and a half minutes later. But UE shut down Missouri State’s offense until the final minute of the quarter to get back within two points. The Lady Bears added three more baskets in the final minute as Evansville trailed 20-13 after 10 minutes.
It was a shot-for-shot start to the second quarter. But Missouri State returned to a double-digit lead three minutes in thanks to a brief four-point run. The Aces took advantage of opportunities at the line to get back within single digits before quieting Missouri State’s offense for two-plus minutes. Five straight points for Kelley got UE within five points before the media timeout with four minutes on the clock. The Lady Bears responded by closing out the half on a 10-0 run to make it a 42-27 game.
Evansville’s offense struggled to score at the beginning of the second half as Missouri State took a 24-point lead. Luebbers Palmer ended the Aces over eight-minute scoring drought with a three-point play. Neither team scored for the next two minutes but then each scored twice in under a minute. The Lady Bears stretched their lead to 29 points twice in the third. But UE responded with two trips to the line and three layups to bring the deficit down to 23.
Missouri State had the first two baskets of the final quarter. But Evansville’s defense became engaged as they held the Lady Bears scoreless for two and a half minutes. The Aces were able to get back within 21 points with three minutes left. But six straight points put the game firmly out of reach for UE as they fell to Missouri State 84-57.
Three freshmen ended the night in double figures for Evansville as Kelley (18), Luebbers Palmer (15), and Runner (11) led the team. Four players had five rebounds each to lead on the defensive side of the ball while Kelley was the only player with multiple assists (2) and steals (2).
The Aces are back in action Sunday afternoon against the Southern Illinois Salukis for the MVC Featured Game of the Week. Tip-off from Meeks Family Fieldhouse is set for 1 p.m. on January 19th.
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