• Game Notes (PDF)
• AcesTV's Live Video Coverage
• Free Live Game Audio (Courtesy of WUEV)
• Live Game Statistics
The University of Evansville women’s basketball team will begin defense of its 2008 Missouri Valley Conference regular-season co-championship on Friday night, as the Purple Aces will welcome arch rival Southern Illinois to Roberts Stadium to open up Valley play. Tip-off on Friday is set for 7:00 p.m.
Evansville will enter MVC play at 7-4 overall, after wrapping up non-conference play on December 22 with a 62-61 overtime victory at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. UE’s seven non-conference victories equals the second-highest non-conference victory total since the Purple Aces entered the MVC in 1994. Only the 1999-2000 Postseason WNIT team has won more non-conference regular-season games at Evansville since 1994, as that squad posted an 8-1 non-conference record en route to a school-record 23 victories.
Senior forward Robyn Jennings currently paces the UE attack with averages of 14.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. She enters league play ranked seventh in the Valley in scoring and fourth in rebounding. Junior guard Amy Gallagher has also emerged as a key scoring threat for UE this year, averaging 12.1 points per game on the season. Gallagher has scored in double-figures in eight of UE’s last nine games, and has averaged 17.3 points per game over the last three contests. Gallagher had a team-high 17 points in UE’s overtime victory in Milwaukee, as the Purple Aces played without the services of Jennings due to a stomach virus. Senior guard Ashley Austin also averages double-figures this year for UE at 10.5 points per game.
Southern Illinois will enter MVC play at 4-5 on the season, after dropping a 67-55 decision to Northern Illinois on Sunday. Three Salukis enter MVC play averaging double-figures so far, led by senior guard Erica Smith’s 14.8 points per game average. Senior forward Jasmine Gibson (13.9 ppg, 7.0 rpg) and sophomore center Katrina Swingler (12.0 ppg) also average double-digits for the Salukis. Smith had a team-best 17 points and nine rebounds in the loss to Northern Illinois on Sunday, and has averaged 20.0 points per game over the last two contests for SIU.
Friday’s contest will renew a long-standing rivalry between Evansville and SIU, as the all-time series is tied 18-18. Evansville swept a pair of games from Southern Illinois last year, including a 77-67 victory at Roberts Stadium last January. Overall, UE has won seven out of the last nine series meetings between the two teams. Friday’s game can be heard live in the Tri-State area on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.
