Box Score PEORIA, Ill. — Trailing by 11 points in the fourth quarter, the University of Evansville women's basketball nearly pulled off their best comeback of the season, but it wasn't to be as the Purple Aces fell 56-52 to Bradley at Renaissance Coliseum.
"You have to give a lot of credit to Bradley," UE head coach Matt Ruffing said. "They played really hard, and they put a lot of pressure on us. I liked our effort to come back, but we have to try and figure out how we can play with that kind of intensity all game."
With the loss, UE dropped to 8-12 overall, which includes a 3-6 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play. Bradley, meanwhile, improved to 7-13 and 3-6, respectively.
After UE cut the deficit six points early in the final stanza, the Braves pushed back, with a Chelsea Brackmann put-back giving the team an 11-point cushion at 52-41 with just 4:13 left. Sara Dickey responded just 12 seconds later on the other end with a triple, and a Camary Williams steal resulted in another bucket to cut it back to six with 2:39 left. Following another Bradley turnover, Brooke Dossett was fouled on a lay-up, and she sank the ensuing free throw to make it a one possession game.
From there, Williams recorded a steal and found Dossett, but the jumper was off-target. The rebound landed fortuitously in the hands of Kerri Gasper beyond the three-point arc, but the shot wouldn't fall for the Aces, who were forced to foul.
Bradley did just enough at the free throw line, and the Aces wouldn't get any closer than three points over the final 73 seconds.
Williams led the Aces with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting, and she also pulled down a team-best nine rebounds to go along with five steals. Dickey ended with 10 points.
Meanwhile, Leti Lerma enjoyed one of the better outings of her career for the Braves, scoring 24 points to go along with 17 rebounds, including nine of the offensive variety. As a team, BU recorded 27 offensive boards, out-rebounding UE 56-30 in the process.
The Aces will return home next weekend with games against Drake and Northern Iowa at the Ford Center.
NOTES: Sara Dickey, UE's all-time leading scorer, now has 1,948 career points, which is the 10th-best mark in MVC history … Sasha Robinson's career rebound total now stands at 751. She's just one away from tying Jenny Schultz (1980-84) for the fourth-best mark in school history … UE is 19-28 all-time against ISU, which includes a 6-17 mark in Peoria … The Aces are now 92-106 against schools from the state of Illinois.
=== #AcesAces ===
