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EVANSVILLE, Ind.—When the visiting Creighton University Bluejays used a 6-0 run out of the halftime locker room to grab a seven-point lead, 36-29, just minutes into the second half Thursday, University of Evansville senior guard Rebekah Parker got nervous. Purple Aces fans are glad that she did.
Parker scored 17 of her game-high 19 points in the second half, including six of Evansville’s first nine points in a key 17-2 run which turned the Creighton seven-point lead into an eight-point Evansville advantage, 46-38, with 11:41 left to play. It would be a lead the Purple Aces would not lose.
“When Creighton took that seven-point lead, I really got nervous because I wanted to pick up this win,” said Parker. “I thought that Creighton had done a great job defensively on both me and Courtney in the first half, and I knew that I had to step up and respond.
“I was able to get a few baskets going early in the second half, and that helped loosen up the defense a little. Other players did a really good job of stepping up then and knocking down shots. This was a great team effort and a big win for us.”
After Parker’s third lay-up in a three-minute span tied the game at 38-38, juniors Robyn Jennings and Ashley Austin scored four points apiece to continue the run and extend the lead to 46-38 with 11:41 to play.
Creighton would claw back to within five points on three different occasions, including with 3:43 to play at 65-60 on a three-point play by Sam Schuett. Parker was there once again though to kick-start a UE run, as she went a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final three minutes to ignite a game-ending 10-0 Evansville run to secure the victory.
“I was really proud of the effort that the team gave tonight,” said UE head coach Tricia Cullop. “I thought that we did an excellent job of getting after it defensively tonight. I thought that our pressure was able to force turnovers in the second half, and I was pleased with our rotation defensively, as we did not allow Creighton to get too many open looks from three-point range. To hold Creighton to just three three-pointers in a game is a real tribute to the effort the players gave on the defensive end tonight.”
UE held the Bluejays to just 3-of-19 shooting from three-point range (15.8 percent). Creighton had entered the game ranked 19th nationally in three-point field goals per game at 7.2 per contest. Evansville also forced 20 turnovers against just 12 mistakes, which led to a 26-8 advantage in points off of turnovers.
Parker led all scorers with 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the floor and 6-of-7 shooting from the free throw line. Jennings also added 12 points, while fellow junior Shannon Novosel chipped in 11 points and nine rebounds. Senior Courtney Felke also reached double-figures with 10 points, including eight second-half tallies.
Sara Cain paced Creighton with 14 points. Kristina Voss and Kelsey Woodard also chipped in nine points apiece for CU.
With the victory, Evansville improves to 8-7 overall and 3-2 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Creighton, meanwhile, falls to 9-6 overall and 2-2 in the Valley. Evansville will return to action next on Sunday afternoon, as the Purple Aces will host defending MVC Tournament champion Drake 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 the Aces’ Radio Network (91.5 F.M.-WUEV, 100.5 F.M.-WSJD, 103.9 F.M.-WNTC).
