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The University of Evansville women’s basketball team will put its season-best seven-game winning streak on the line in front of a regional and national television audience on Friday night, as the Purple Aces will host the Wichita State Shockers in the “MVC TV Game of the Week” on Fan Appreciation Night in Evansville.  Tip-off is set for 7:35 p.m. and tickets are discounted to $1 for adults and children can receive free admission with a “Take A Kid To The Game” voucher.

“Our fans have been tremendous this year, and we wanted to find a way to thank them for their support on Friday,” said UE head coach Tricia Cullop.  “We know that the economy is down right now and finding affordable family entertainment is tough, so we wanted to try and lighten the burden on our fans a little bit and provide an affordable, fun, family-oriented entertainment option for people in the Tri-State area.

“We really can’t thank our fans enough for the support they have given us this year.  They have been a key part to our home success this season.”

Evansville has averaged a school-best 1,477 fans per game so far this year, as 13,296 fans have come out to support the Purple Aces in their nine home games so far this year.  Should UE maintain that average of 1,477, the Purple Aces will set new single-season average attendance and total attendance records for the sixth-straight year this season.

Friday’s game will mark the return of the MVC TV Network to Roberts Stadium for a UE women’s game.  UE has not hosted an MVC TV game since 2001, when nationally-ranked Missouri State and NCAA career scoring leader Jackie Stiles came to town.  Friday’s game can be seen live throughout the Midwest on Fox Sports Net Midwest (Wow! Channel 31, Insight Channel 47 in Evansville), Comcast SportsNet Chicago, and Metro Sports in Kansas City.  The game will also be available nationally on Fox College Sports’ digital package (DirecTV Channel 647 and Dish Network Channel 418).

“We are very excited to be hosting an MVC TV?Game of the Week on Friday,”?said Cullop.  “This is a great opportunity for our fans and our program to showcase itself to fans, alumni, and recruits all across the country.   Hopefully, we can put forth a good show for the fans on Friday night.”

Evansville will bring a 13-7 overall record and 7-2 conference mark into Friday’s game after knocking off Northern Iowa, 57-52, last Saturday to record its seventh-straight victory.  The Purple Aces enter the weekend alone in second place in the MVC standings, just one game back of league-leading Illinois State.  UE’s 7-2 conference start is the school’s best since the 1998-99 team opened league play 9-1, and it ranks as the second-best MVC start in the program’s 13 years in the MVC.

Senior guards Rebekah Parker (14.7 ppg) and Courtney Felke (11.5 ppg) continue to spearhead the Purple Aces’ attack, with junior forward Shannon Novosel joining them in double-figures with an average of 10.8 points per game this year.  Novosel has led the UE charge over the last three games, pacing the Purple Aces in scoring over the last three contests at 15.3 ppg.  She had a game-high 15 points in UE’s victory at Northern Iowa on Saturday.  Fellow junior Robyn Jennings (7.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg) has also stepped up during UE’s current seven-game winning streak to average 10.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game over the last seven contests.

Wichita State will counter with an 8-13 overall record and 2-7 Valley mark on Friday.  The Shockers have won two out of the last three games behind senior forward Kiki Stephens, who currently ranks eighth in the MVC in scoring at 13.4 points per game.  Stephens had a season-high 24 points last Saturday in the Shockers’ 73-69 victory over Missouri State.

Evansville leads the all-time series over Wichita State, 15-14, after knocking off the Shockers, 76-60, in Wichita on January 12 to begin the Purple Aces’ current seven-game winning streak.  Parker had a game-high 23 points to pace the Purple Aces to victory in Wichita, and she has reached double-figures in each of the last five games against the Shockers.