EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The annual HoopFest event, sponsored by Heritage Federal Credit Union, was held on the University of Evansville campus on Wednesday night inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse in front of a capacity crowd of 1,134. The Purple Aces men's and women's basketball teams took part in several events to promote their teams for the upcoming season.
A 3-point shooting contest got the night started with the teams of Kerri Gasper/Ryan Taylor and Brooke Dossett/Evan Kuhlman taking top honors with 14 points apiece. In a tiebreaker, Gasper defeated Kuhlman, 8-6.
HoopFest Photo Gallery
Following that was a dunk exhibition for the men's squad. The players took five minutes to display their talents to the 1,134 in attendance.
Next up, an interactive game took place as three fans teamed up with players in a shooting contest where they hit a layup, free throw, 3-pointer and half-court shot. The winning team of Dru Smith, Kelsi Scott and young fan Emma were the top performers. They took under 30 seconds to complete the challenge with Scott nailing the half-court shot to win the challenge.
UE's women were the first to take to the floor for a scrimmage, consisting of two 5-minute halves. The purple squad won by a final of 24-13 as Tattenai Hall led the way with six points while Crimson Jones and Hannah Noe notched five apiece. For the white, Kerri Gasper was the leading scorer with six tallies.
A close battle ensued on the men's side with the purple team earning a 19-17 win over the white. Noah Frederking knocked down a pair of triples to pace the purple team. Dru Smith, Solomon Hainna and K.J. Riley each notched three apiece. Making his return from injury, Blake Simmons was the top scorer in the contest. He hit three treys and four field goals overall to notch 11 tallies.
Both teams now have their sights set on the regular season. UE's women start the year inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse on Sunday, November 12 with a 1 p.m. contest against Murray State. The men open the season at the Ford Center on Friday, Nov. 10 with a 7 p.m. game against Arkansas State.
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