SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The University of Evansville women's basketball team battled tough in the early going, but fell to Missouri State, 97-51, on the road Thursday night in Springfield, Mo.
"The effort was somewhat there, but it was our gameplan and it was doing what they were asked to do that wasn't there and it was putting us in some really bad situations defensively," said Aces head coach Matt Ruffing. "We made some shots in the first half and to be down the way we were shooting 45% from the field and 40% from three, that's tough to swallow as a coach. The defensive effort wasn't there and our shots weren't falling in the second half and that's why it was 97-51."
Graduate guard Hannah Noe returned to double-figures for the first time in eight games with a team-high 17 points, including four three-pointers. Also scoring double-digits for Evansville were sophomore guard Macie Lively, who finished with 12 points, three rebounds, and two assists, and junior guard Kerri Gasper with 11 points and a rebound. Leading the Bears was Liza Fruendt, who tallied a game-high 28 points to go along with five assists, four rebounds, and a steal.
Evansville got the scoring by way of a triple from Noe on the Aces' first possession as UE built an 8-7 lead on Missouri State with 4:03 left in the opening quarter. The Bears' offense got going in the final minutes of the first period as Missouri State closed the frame on an 11-4 run to take an 18-12 lead after the first 10 minutes of action.
In the second quarter, Missouri State opened with a 13-5 run that increased its advantage to 14 at 31-17 with 6:02 remaining in the quarter. The Aces though showcased plenty of fight, clawing back within eight with an 11-6 run that closed the gap to 37-29 heading into the final minutes of the period. To close the quarter, the Bears scored 12 of the last 18 points of the quarter, including a 10-0 run, as Missouri State took a 49-35 lead to the halftime break.
Box Score (PDF)
Coming out of the half, the Bears continued their run with a 7-0 spree over the first 2:28 as Missouri State saw its lead pushed to 21 at 56-35. Evansville tried to get its offense rolling midway through the fourth as Gasper drained a triple and Lively hit a jumper that pushed UE within 19 with just over five minutes left in the quarter. Following the Aces' 5-0 run, Missouri State closed the period with a 13-3 run as the Bears grabbed a 73-44 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
Missouri State continued kept its rhythm in the fourth period as the Bears opened the quarter on a 5-1 run before Noe hit her fourth three-pointer of the game to stop the run. Following Noe's three, Missouri State regained momentum, going on a 19-3 run end the game as the Bears grabbed the 97-51 win.
After the Aces held Missouri State to just 28.6% (6-21) shooting from the field in the opening quarter, the Bears bounced back, shooting 63.5% (33-52) over the final three periods. Evansville opened the game going 13-29 (44.8%) in the first half, but shot just 18.5% (5-27) from the field in the final 20 minutes.
Evansville closes out the regular season on the road in Carbondale, Ill with a contest at Southern Illinois at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
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