EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Evansville freshman point guard Kaylan Martin didn’t call bank, but her banked-in three-pointer with 1:30 to play keyed a late 10-2 Evansville run which helped the Purple Aces capture their first victory of the 2009-10 season, 76-69, over the visiting Saint Louis University Billikens at Roberts Stadium.

 

With the shot clock winding down and Evansville clinging to a three-point lead, Martin’s top-of-the-key three-pointer banked home and ignited the Purple Aces to a 66-60 lead. Evansville would then go 8-of-11 from the free throw line in the remaining 1:30 to hold off the Billikens and pick up UE’s first victory of the season.

 

“I saw the shot clock winding down and I knew that we needed a basket on that possession,” said Martin. “When I got the ball, I just focused on trying to make it. While I wasn’t trying to bank it in, it went in nonetheless, and most importantly, we were able to pick up the victory tonight.”

 

“That was a big shot by Kaylan,” said UE head coach Misty Murphy. “Saint Louis had done a good job of battling back after we had built a 12-point lead, and like she said, we needed a basket on that possession. She did a good job though of stepping up and hitting that three, and then we had many different players step up in the final two minutes to hit free throws to help extend the lead.

 

“This is a good win for us, because we had many different players step up and contribute. If you look, all 10 players that we played tonight contributed point-wise and were able to hit free throws. That shows that everyone who saw the floor was aggressive. That’s what we were missing on Wednesday night at Butler was being aggressive. We were aggressive tonight and that paid off in a victory.”

 

Evansville came out aggressive from the start, jumping to an 8-0 lead in the first two minutes of the game on three-pointers by Martin and junior forward Stephanie Bamberger and a lay-up by freshman center Samantha Heck. UE would lead virtually throughout the first half, as the half featured just two ties, before the Purple Aces took a 29-26 lead into the halftime locker room.

 

The Billikens opened the second half by scoring the first four points of the half to take their first lead of the game, 30-29, on a lay-up by Lauren Woods with 18:14 to play. Evansville would answer back though with a 15-3 run over the next seven minutes to build a 44-33 lead with 11:50 to play. Senior guard Amy Gallagher keyed the run with five points, and the Purple Aces began their march to the free throw line with five free throws in the run.

 

Evansville would hold between a seven- and 12-point lead over the next four minutes, as Gallagher hit six-straight free throws at one point to help maintain UE’s lead. With 7:02 to play though, a three-pointer by Saint Louis’ Jacy Bradley began a 12-3 run by the Billikens which erased UE’s nine-point cushion and eventually tied the game at 58-58 with 3:00 to play on a pair of Saint Louis free throws.

 

A traditional three-point play by Heck would give UE a 61-58 lead with 2:38 to play, before the Billikens would answer with a jumper by Mallory Eggert 15 seconds later. A running lay-up in the lane by sophomore forward Chelsea Falkenstein gave UE back a three-point lead with 2:12 to play to set up Martin’s late-game three.

 

Gallagher led four Purple Aces in double-figures in the victory with 13 points on a perfect 9-of-9 shooting from the foul line. Martin equaled her season-high with 12 points while adding six rebounds and four assists, while Heck (11 points, seven rebounds) and sophomore guard Jordan Lewis (10 points) joined them in double-figures. All 10 Purple Aces who saw action scored in the contest, with all 10 players also hitting free throws. For the game, Evansville outscored Saint Louis, 29-16, from the free throw line.

 

Woods led all scorers for Saint Louis with 18 points. Bradley and guard Katie Paganelli also chipped in 15 points each.

 

With the victory, Evansville improves to 1-6 on the season. Saint Louis, meanwhile, drops to 3-5 overall. The Purple Aces will travel to Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday night to battle the Lipscomb University Bisons at 7:00 p.m. Due to a time conflict with the UE men’s basketball game at Western Kentucky, Tuesday’s game can be heard on an internet-only basis on GoPurpleAces.com.