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EVANSVILLE, Ind.—Sparked by career nights by junior guards Ashley Austin and Kate Batey, the University of Evansville women’s basketball team cruised past the visiting Ball State University Cardinals, 70-55, Saturday night at Roberts Stadium in Evansville.
Austin led a pack of four Purple Aces in double-figures with a career-high 18 points, while Batey chipped in a career-best seven points in seven minutes of action. After the Evansville offense started out extremely slow, the two juniors kick-started a 43-14 UE run which turned a nine-point Ball State lead into an Evansville blow out.
The Cardinals opened the game on a 13-2 run, and would hold a 20-11 lead with 8:19 to play in the first half before the Purple Aces started to chip away. A lay-up by junior forward Shannon Novosel with 6:30 to play trimmed the deficit back to seven points, 20-13. Four-straight free throws by Austin and senior guard Rebekah Parker would cut the deficit back to just 20-17 with 5:23 to play, before the offense would finally arrive.
Mired in a 4-for-26 start offensively, Evansville worked a lay-up inside by Austin with 4:19 left before the half to cut the Ball State lead back to one point, 20-19. Batey would then ignite the offense with back-to-back baskets, including a three-pointer with 3:14 to play which gave UE the lead for good. Evansville would finish the half hitting seven of its last nine shots to take a 34-26 lead into the halftime locker room.
The hot shooting would continue in the second half, as the Purple Aces opened the half hitting five of its first six shots after halftime to grab a 47-31 lead with 15:07 to play on a lay-up by junior forward Robyn Jennings. The lead would grow to as much as 23 points in the second half, before the Purple Aces would settle for the 15-point victory.
“I was really proud of the way some different players stepped up tonight,” said UE head coach Tricia Cullop. “Ashley Austin stepped up in the first half and hit some big shots, and Kate Batey really gave us a shot in the arm offensively off of the bench. Kate has really been playing well in practice and has had a great attitude about things, and it was great to see that hard work in practice pay off tonight.”
Austin notched career-highs with 18 points and five rebounds to lead UE, while shooting 7-for-15 from the field. Novosel also recorded her second double-double of the season with 14 points and a career-best 14 rebounds, while Parker and Jennings chipped in 10 points apiece. Lisa Rusche paced Ball State with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
With the victory, Evansville improves to 5-4 on the season. Ball State, meanwhile, falls to 3-7. The Purple Aces are now off for 13 days due to final exams, as UE will not return to action next until Friday, December 21, when Evansville travels to Dayton, Ohio to battle Wright State. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. central time and the game can be heard live in the Tri-State area on the Aces’ Radio Network (91.5 F.M.-WUEV, 100.5 F.M.-WSJD, 103.9 F.M.-WNTC).
