EVANSTON, Ill. – As has been the case since she stepped foot on campus in 2013, Sara Dickey was once again the sparkplug for the University of Evansville women's basketball team as the senior guard became UE's all-time leading scorer in Sunday's 88-66 loss to Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
"What a cool moment," UE head coach Matt Ruffing said. "For her to come out here and break it against a good Big Ten team with her family in the stands, that's a memory that she'll cherish forever. Sara's not one that likes attention, and I'm sure she probably feels a little relieved to get it out of the way. I know we'll all remember this for a long time."
"It's kind of a sense of relief, and I was going to feel kind of silly in this game if I wouldn't have gotten eight points today," Dickey said. "Now it's done and over with, and I don't have to worry about it anymore. It's great that the shots are starting to go in for me, and hopefully, I'll be able to keep that up for the rest of the season."
After being held quiet for much of the first period, Dickey and the rest of the Aces squad saw the hosts take a 31-12 first quarter lead after the Wildcats (5-1) shot 14-for-20 from the field. However, the second period was a different story, with Dickey pouring in 11 of UE's 24 points in the frame, helping the Aces (0-5) pull within four at one point before heading into the break down 43-36.
"I think it took us a little while to adapt to the size and style of play," Ruffing explained. "Unfortunately, that's not something that you can really replicate in practice. We did a really good job of regrouping, and to fight back in the second quarter like that against a team that's coming off a win over the No. 16 team in the country, that says a lot about this team. Hopefully, we can gain some confidence from that."
Dickey ended the day with 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting. The total gave her 1,725 points for her career, bettering the mark held by Shelly Brand-Adlard, who starred from 1981-85. The Montezuma, Ind., native also tied a career high with five three-pointers to become the all-time leader in that category as well with 209 for her career, surpassing the mark held by Courtney Felke, who played for UE from 2004-08.
The Wildcats started to pull away in the third quarter, outscoring the Aces by a 25-14 margin to take a 68-50 lead and put the game out of reach for UE.
Nia Coffey, who ranks one spot ahead of Dickey on the NCAA's active scoring list, led the way for the hosts with 30 points on 12-of-15 shooting with eight boards and six assists. Amber Jamison also shined for the Wildcats with 15 points.
Meanwhile, Dickey was one of two players in double-figures for the Aces as Macie Lively chipped in a career-best 10 points. Sasha Robinson, who entered the game averaging a near double-double, finished the day with six points and 10 rebounds. She's now pulled down double-digit boards in all but one game this season
With 657 career boards, Robinson moved up to sixth on UE's all-time rebounding list.
The Aces will return to action later this week with a trip to Valparaiso on Wednesday. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
NOTES: Sunday marked the first-ever meeting between Northwestern and Evansville … The game will featured two of the nation's active leading scorers, Sara Dickey with 1,725 points, who ranks ninth nationally, and Northwestern's Nia Coffey, who is eighth with 1,796 … The game cemented a fifth straight season that the Aces have taken on a Power-5 opponent … UE has played six such opponents since 2012, including four from the Big Ten, posting an 0-7 record … The Aces are 90-110 all-time against schools from the state of Illinois.
=== #AcesAces ===
