EVANSVILLE, Ind.—Defense and free throw shooting have been calling cards of the University of Evansville women’s basketball team so far this year. On Friday night, the Purple Aces rode a combination of the two to a 70-65 victory over a hot-shooting Southern Illinois Salukis squad at Roberts Stadium in Evansville in the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both schools.

 

The Salukis shot a blistering 60.0 percent from the floor in the contest against UE, but the Purple Aces turned 20 SIU turnovers into a 28-12 advantage in points off of turnovers to help cool the visitors from Carbondale and improve to 8-4 on the year. UE also stepped up to hit its final 13 free throws in the final 4:06 of regulation to outlast SIU in a back-and-forth game which saw nine ties and 14 lead changes.

 

“I was really proud of the way the team fought tonight,” said UE head coach Misty Murphy. “Southern Illinois came out and shot the ball extremely well and hit some very tough shots, but our players never hung their heads and kept battling on defense and did the things necessary to pick up this victory tonight.”

 

SIU shot 72.7 percent from the floor (16-for-22) in the first half of play, but took just a seven-point lead into the halftime locker room, 38-31, as Evansville scored 18 points off of 11 first-half turnovers by the Salukis. The Purple Aces then held the Salukis to just two points through the first nine minutes of the second half to tie the game up at 40-40 thanks to a 9-2 run fueled by four points each from junior guard Amy Gallagher and senior center Shannon Novosel.

 

From there, neither team would hold more than a four-point lead until the final four seconds of regulation, as the two teams would battle through five ties and 11 lead changes in the final 11 minutes of play. Gallagher would eventually give UE the lead for good with a base-line jumper from the left baseline with 35 seconds to play to give Evansville a 66-65 cushion. UE seniors Ashley Austin and Robyn Jennings would then ice the victory with a pair of free throws each around an SIU turnover and a missed three-pointer to provide the 70-65 margin of victory.

 

Gallagher led all scorers, as she equaled a career-high with 19 points, including eight points in the final 6:05 of regulation. Austin added 18 points, and Novosel chipped in 16 points and three assists, as she surpassed the 800-point barrier in her UE career. Senior forward Jasmine Gibson led SIU with 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds, while freshmen Olivia Lett and Eryn Stepherson added 12 points and 11 points apiece.

 

With the victory, Evansville improves to 8-4 on the year and 1-0 in the MVC. Southern Illinois, meanwhile, drops to 4-6 overall and 0-1 in the Valley. Evansville will return to action next Friday at 7:05 p.m. as the Purple Aces will travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa to battle the University of Northern Iowa Panthers. Friday’s game can be heard live in the Tri-State area on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.