Entering the final day of the 2007-08 regular-season, there are 32 different scenarios involving seeding for next week’s State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. To the University of Evansville women’s basketball team, there is really only one that they are worried about: a UE win on Saturday at Illinois State gives the Purple Aces the outright MVC regular-season championship.
Evansville and Illinois State will do battle at 2:05 p.m. on Saturday, with major MVC Tournament seeding implications for both teams hanging in the balance. Evansville, which has already clinched a share of the MVC regular-season title thanks to a league-best 13-4 conference mark and 19-9 overall record, can win the Valley title outright on Saturday with a victory over Illinois State. Meanwhile, a UE loss could possibly set up a four-team tie for the MVC regular-season championship, in which case the Purple Aces would enter tournament play as the fourth-seed.
The same holds true for Illinois State as well. The Redbirds, 22-6 overall and 12-5 in the MVC, could clinch the top spot in the MVC Tournament next week with a victory and some help from other teams around the league. Both Creighton and Drake are tied with the Redbirds for second place in the MVC with 12-5 conference records, and what they do tomorrow at Wichita State and Missouri State could affect both UE and ISU.
Both teams are not only battling for the MVC regular-season title, but also the right to hold the MVC’s automatic bid in the Postseason WNIT going into State Farm MVC Tournament play. Evansville hopes to end its drama for the final day around 4 p.m. on Saturday with a victory against the Redbirds. The Purple Aces are trying to bounce back from Thursday night’s 66-61 loss at Indiana State. Junior forward Robyn Jennings posted her third double-double of the season with a career-high 19 points and 10 rebounds, but it was not enough for UE, as the Purple Aces could not overcome 21 turnovers in the loss.
Illinois State, meanwhile, is trying to snap a season-long three-game losing streak after dropping a 72-69 decision against Southern Illinois. Sophomore center Nicole Lewis poured in a career-high 28 points, but a late basket by SIU senior forward Jayme Sweere and two free throws by fellow Saluki senior Erin Pauk after a steal in the final seconds helped the Salukis rally from an eight-point second-half deficit to pick up the victory.
Illinois State won the first meeting of the year over UE, 75-67, but since that time, the Purple Aces have gone 14-3 overall. The Redbirds lead the all-time series over UE, 16-11, however the Purple Aces have won five out of the last six series meetings at Redbird Arena in Normal. In fact, the road team has dominated the UE-ISU series of late, as the road team has won 10 of the last 12 series meetings.
Saturday’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).
