CARBONDALE, Ill. – Sara Dickey enjoyed yet another historic outing on Friday evening, becoming just the eighth Missouri Valley Conference player to score 2,000 career points as the University of Evansville women's basketball team earned a 74-61 victory over Southern Illinois at SIU Arena.
It was the best outing of the season for the senior out of Montezuma, Ind., as she drained a career-best seven three-pointers on the way to finishing with a season-best 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting.
"It's a cool feeling to get there," Dickey said of the accomplishment. "I was getting really frustrated over the past few games, and I'm just really happy that it all came together tonight. I've been working on my shooting all week. A game like tonight gives us a lot of confidence heading into these next four games, and hopefully, we can gain a little momentum heading into the conference tournament."
Dickey ended the night just one three-pointer shy of the school record, which was set by Courtney Felke at Morehead State in 2007.
The win came at a good time for the Aces (9-16, 4-10 MVC) as it put a halt to a six-game losing streak and a road conference losing run that dated back to the 2015 season. Meanwhile, SIU dropped to 12-13 on the season and 6-8 overall.
UE grabbed hold of things early as a Kerri Gasper game-opening three-pointer set the stage for a flurry from distance in the opening quarter. Camary Williams followed up with a triple of her own, and Dickey would keep the barrage going, hitting back-to-back treys to give UE the early 12-5 lead.
Overall, the Aces were 5-of-8 from distance in the first quarter, ending with 19 points, and they'd go on to add another 19 in the second and 21 in the third before being out-scored 16-15 in the final 10 minutes. For the game, the Aces shot 47.4% from the field, including a 13-of-24 showing from beyond the arc.
"We came out and executed our game plan on both ends, and I'm so happy for these kids," UE head coach Matt Ruffing said. "If we can do that, we're a very tough team to beat. We needed this win after going through that gauntlet, but they knew what they were capable of and pulled it out today."
In addition to Dickey, Gasper hit a pair of threes on the way to finishing with 12 points and six rebounds. Williams was two rebounds shy of double-double, ending with 11 points and eight boards. Sasha Robinson grabbed a game-best 11 rebounds, and both Brooke Dossett and Macie Lively dished out five assists.
Three players hit double figures for the Salukis, led by the duo of Kim Nebo and Kylie Giebelhausen, who put up 15 points apiece. Rishonda Napier added 12.
The Aces will return to action next weekend as the close out the home season at the Ford Center with games against Bradley and Illinois State.
NOTES: With 2,007 career points, Sara Dickey is UE's all-time leading scorer and ranks eighth in Valley history. She's now 47 points away from tying Northern Iowa's Jacqui Kalin (2012-13) for seventh … Dickey is also just one point away from tying former Valpo star Debbie Bolen (1989-93) the 13
th-best total in Indiana NCAA Division I history … With 250 career three-pointers, Dickey is tied with former Creighton star Laura Spanheimer (2002-05) for the 12
th-best total in league history … Sasha Robinson ranks fourth in UE history with 792 career rebounds. She is 19 away from tying Jamie Gray (2000-04) for third in the school history books … UE is 28-28 all-time against SIU, which includes a 12-14 mark in Carbondale.
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