EVANSVILLE, Ind.—Sparked by career-high 20-point performances by seniors Ashley Austin and Robyn Jennings, the University of Evansville women’s basketball team made a winner of head coach Misty Murphy in her debut as Purple Aces’ head coach with an 83-73 victory over the visiting East Tennessee State University Lady Buccaneers at Roberts Stadium in Evansville.

 

The Purple Aces jumped out to an early 11-3 lead, as all five members of the UE starting lineup scored in the opening three minutes to grab a lead the Purple Aces would never lose. Austin would lead Evansville’s first-half charge to a 43-34 halftime cushion, scoring 10 of her 20 points and grabbing five of her game-high 10 rebounds in the opening 20 minutes of play.

 

Jennings would then catch fire in the second half, scoring 18 of her 20 points after halftime to help the Purple Aces build a 20-point lead, 76-56, with 5:29 to play. The Lady Bucs would battle back to trim the UE lead to eight points twice in the final two minutes, but Austin and Jennings would combine for UE’s final seven points from the foul line to seal the victory.

 

“It is exciting to be able to get my first Division I game under my belt as a head coach, and it was even more rewarding to come away with a victory, especially against a very good team in East Tennessee State,” said Murphy, who was named UE’s ninth women’s basketball head coach in May. “I was very proud of the way the team stepped up today and responded, especially down the stretch when ETSU made a run at them.

 

“Obviously, we still have a lot of things we need to work on, and the players know that, but for the first game of the season, I was very happy with how the team played.”

 

Austin’s 20-point, 10-rebound double-double is the second of her UE career. She finished a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor, and a career-best 13-for-16 from the free throw line, as the Purple Aces outscored ETSU, 29-9, from the foul line in the contest. Jennings, meanwhile, recorded 20 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-4 shooting from three-point range, and 7-of-10 shooting from the free throw line. She also grabbed eight rebounds.

 

Sophomore Stephanie Bamberger also added 13 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the floor for UE. Freshman Gwen Washington paced three Lady Bucs in double-figures with 21 points, while two-time all-Atlantic Sun performer Siarre Evans added a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double.

 

With the victory, Evansville improves to 1-0 on the young season, while ETSU falls to 0-1. The Purple Aces will now travel north to South Bend, Indiana to battle nationally-ranked Notre Dame in a non-conference contest on Wednesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. central time and Wednesday’s game can be heard live on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.