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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.—Butler sophomore forward Susan Lester scored 24 of her career-high 28 points in the second half Thursday, including 10 points in a key 14-2 Butler run which proved to be too much to overcome for the visiting University of Evansville Purple Aces, as Butler posted an 81-75 victory over UE at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
After Evansville’s Courtney Felke hit one of her five three-point field goals to give UE 47-45 lead with 12:48 to play, Lester took over, scoring 10 of the game’s next 16 points over a four minute and 10 second span to help the Bulldogs grab a 59-49 cushion.
The Butler lead would expand to as much as 14 points, 69-55, on a pair of Lester free throws with 3:29 to play, before Evansville made one last valiant charge. UE used a 15-4 run over the next 2:36 fueled by a hard full-court press to trim the deficit back to just three points, 73-70, with 53 seconds remaining on a Shannon Novosel lay-up. That would be as close as Evansville would get though, as the Bulldogs went 8-of-10 from the foul line down the stretch to seal the victory.
“This is a loss that really stings your soul as a competitor,” said UE head coach Tricia Cullop. “If it takes this loss to help us get better as a team, then we’ll look back on it in a different light. Right now, this loss hurts though.
“I was proud of the way the team fought tonight, especially in the final minutes. They really gave it their all and never quit. We put ourselves into too much of a hole though in this game, and there are still a lot of things we need to work on. Hopefully, we’ll be able to do some of those things better on Saturday against Ball State.”
Lester led all scorers with 28 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor and 11-of-13 shooting from the free throw line. Akande also chipped in 18 points, while rookie guard Azjah Bass equaled her season scoring total with 15 points off of the bench of 3-of-4 shooting from three-point range.
Felke led Evansville with 21 points and seven assists, while going 5-for-9 from three-point range. Sophomore forward Jillian Palan pitched in a career-best 12 points and seven rebounds in her second career start at UE, while senior Rebekah Parker added 11 points and Novosel chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds.
With the victory, Butler improves to 7-1 on the 2007-08 season, while Evansville evens its record at 4-4. Evansville will return to action next on Saturday night at 5:00 p.m. as the Purple Aces will host in-state rival Ball State at Roberts Stadium. Fans who bring a new or gently used teddy bear to Saturday’s game will receive a discounted ticket of $2, as UE will conduct its second annual Teddy Bear Drop. At halftime, fans will have a chance to throw their bear onto the court, and any teddy bears that land in the center circle will be entered into a contest for a chance to win a prize. The UE women’s basketball team will then deliver the teddy bears to the children at Riley Hospital in Newburgh for the holiday season.
