Game Notes (PDF)
Free Live Game Audio (Courtesy of 91.5 F.M.-WUEV)
After an impressive 21-point road victory Thursday night at Bradley, the University of Evansville women’s basketball team will try to stretch its winning streak to seven games on Saturday, as the Purple Aces will travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa to battle the University of Northern Iowa Panthers. Tip-off is set for 4:05 p.m. and Saturday’s game can be heard live on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.
Evansville will bring a 12-7 overall record and 6-2 Missouri Valley Conference mark into Saturday’s game after posting a 71-50 victory at Bradley on Thursday. The 6-2 conference start is UE’s best since the 1998-99 season, and ranks as the second-best Valley start for Evansville since entering the league in 1994. It has helped Evansville climb into a tie for second place in the league standings with league pre-season favorite Drake.
Junior forward Shannon Novosel paced Evansville to victory on Thursday night, as she led a trio of UE post players in double-figures with 16 points. Novosel has stepped up over UE’s current six-game winning streak to rank second on the team in scoring at 13.2 points per game. Fellow junior post player Robyn Jennings has also stepped up to average 10.7 points and 9.8 rebounds per game over the last six games. She recorded her second double-double in the last three games with 12 points and 11 rebounds in UE’s win at Bradley on Thursday night.
Northern Iowa will bring a 7-12 record and 3-5 Valley mark into Saturday’s game after knocking off Southern Illinois, 64-52, on Thursday. The Panthers once again rank as one of the MVC’s top defensive squads, giving up an average of just 63.1 points per game. Offensively, UNI is led by one of the league’s top rookies in freshman guard Jacqui Kalin. Kalin averages a team-best 12.7 points per game this season for UNI and had a team-high 21 points in the Panthers’ victory over Southern Illinois on Thursday night.
Evansville leads the all-time series over Northern Iowa, 15-14, including winning three games from the Panthers last year. Defense will likely be the name of the game on Saturday afternoon, as neither UE nor UNI has cracked the 60-point barrier against one another in Cedar Falls the last three years.
