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EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Evansville women’s basketball team scored the first 14 points of the game Tuesday afternoon and the Purple Aces never looked back, as UE posted a 72-56 victory over the visiting Tennessee Tech University Golden Eagles at Roberts Stadium in Evansville, Indiana.
Six different Purple Aces scored in the game’s opening 6:27 to help UE build an early 14-0 lead. Evansville would hold Tennessee Tech scoreless until the 7:10 mark of the first half, when sophomore guard Holly Rogers finally knocked down a jumper with 12:50 to play to trim the deficit back to just 12 points, 14-2. UE would answer right back though with a lay-up by sophomore forward Anaris Sickles, and Tennessee Tech would not get back within 11 points the rest of the way as UE cruised to victory in front of 1,968 fans for the Future Purple Aces Fast B.R.E.A.K. (Basketball Reinforcing Education to Area Kids) Game.
“What a great atmosphere for women’s basketball today,” said UE head coach Tricia Cullop. “I really want to thank all of the schools that participated in this year’s Fast B.R.E.A.K. program and I hope that the kids really enjoyed their experience today. I also want to thank our School of Education and our marketing department for all of the hard work they put into this year’s event.”
Evansville took a 38-12 lead into the halftime locker room thanks to a balanced attack led by senior guard Rebekah Parker, who equaled Tennessee Tech’s first-half output with 12 points of her own. Eight different Purple Aces scored in the opening half, as seven of the eight players posted four points or more.
“We have been on the road for the last few weeks and have struggled,” said Parker. “So, it was really nice to get back home to Roberts Stadium and play in front of the home crowd again.
“I thought today, we did a much better job as a team of playing defense to try and stop their big three. Meagan Lyons is an extremely fast guard, but I thought that we did a good job of help-side defense today to keep her from getting to the basket.”
The UE lead would eventually swell to 32 points midway through the second half, before Rogers, a transfer from Vanderbilt, would score 12 of her team-high 20 points in the game’s final seven minutes to trim the final margin of victory back to 16 points.
“The big key today was defense,” said Cullop. “I thought that we did a good job of limiting their top three scorers until the final 10 minutes, when Rogers and Kristina Tyler finally got on track.
“I also thought that we did a much better job of rebounding today. Even if we didn’t pull down a rebound, it was nice to see all five players battling for position and trying to box out. I thought that the effort was definitely there today on the glass, and that’s what I’ve been looking for of late.”
Evansville won the battle of the boards, 47-36, led by a game-high 10 rebounds from junior forward Shannon Novosel, who also chipped in eight points. Parker led a balanced UE attack with a game-high 20 points, while six different players scored seven points or more, including Novosel, senior Courtney Felke, sophomore Jillian Palan (eight points each), Sickles and junior Ashley Austin (seven points apiece).
With the victory, Evansville evens its record at 3-3. Tennessee Tech, meanwhile, falls to 1-3. The Purple Aces will return to action next on Sunday afternoon, as UE will host IUPUI at Roberts Stadium. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. and Sunday's game can be heard live in the Tri-State area on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.
