• Tournament Notes (PDF)
• Free Live Game Audio (Courtesy of WUEV)
• Full 2010 All-MVC Honors (PDF)
University of Evansville senior guard Amy Gallagher (Neligh, Neb./Neligh-Oakdale) earned her second Missouri Valley Conference honor of the week on Wednesday, as she received honorable mention all-conference honors in a vote of the league’s head coaches, media members, and sports information directors.
Gallagher received honorable mention MVC Scholar-Athlete honors on Tuesday for her work in the classroom. On Wednesday, she earned honorable mention all-conference honors for her work on the court, as Gallagher led the Purple Aces in scoring, assists, and steals in her senior season. Gallagher will enter this week’s State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament leading the Purple Aces with averages of 10.3 points, 2.8 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. She currently ranks 19th in the league in scoring, while also ranking 12th in the conference in both assists and steals. She has scored in double-figures 15 times on the season, including scoring double-figures against every other Missouri Valley Conference team at least once this year.
“This is a tremendous honor for Amy and we are proud to see her recognized for her hard work,” said UE head coach Misty Murphy. “I know that Amy has had to deal with a lot of adversity this year, both on and off of the court, but she has always come to practice with a great attitude and work ethic and has been an absolute joy to coach.
“She is very deserving of this honor, because night-in and night-out, opposing teams have been trying to game-plan specifically to try and slow her down. She has still been able to consistently be a team-leader for us on the court, and has been a steadying influence on a young team this year.”
For Gallagher, it is her first all-conference honor during her four-year career at UE. Gallagher is UE’s active leader in scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals, and will likely finish her Purple Aces’ career right outside of the school’s career top 10 in thefts, as she has swiped 131 steals as a Purple Ace.
Gallagher will lead the Purple Aces (4-25 overall, 1-17 MVC) into this week’s State Farm MVC Tournament beginning on Thursday at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Missouri. Evansville will serve as the tournament’s No. 10 seed, and the Purple Aces will open tournament play on Thursday night at 8:35 p.m. against seventh-seeded Drake. The Purple Aces and Bulldogs know each other well, as this year’s match-up will mark the fourth time overall and third time in the last four years in which UE and Drake have met in the State Farm MVC Tournament. The Purple Aces are hoping for better luck than the previous tournament meetings with Drake, though, as the Bulldogs have won the previous three tournament meetings with Evansville by a combined 13 points.
Evansville is also hoping to rekindle the March magic of last year at the Family Arena, as the Purple Aces won four games in four days last March to win the State Farm MVC Tournament title as the tournament’s ninth-seed. Gallagher was the one who capped the tournament run last March, as her baseline jumper with 0.3 seconds remaining in regulation in the title game snapped a 45-45 tie with Creighton and propelled the Purple Aces into the NCAA Tournament field.
“Beginning this weekend, it’s a completely new season,” said Murphy. “It doesn’t matter what has transpired in the past, what only matters is what happens this weekend. Everyone is given a second chance to be a conference champion this weekend. Hopefully, we can make the most of our opportunity like we did last year.”
Every UE women's basketball game in the State Farm MVC Tournament can be heard live on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.
