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EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Evansville women’s basketball team nearly overcame a 26-point second-half deficit on Saturday evening, but in the end, the Purple Aces had no answer for Illinois State’s Maggie Krick, as she scored a game-high 21 points to power the visiting Redbirds to a 67-54 victory over UE on “Senior Night” at Roberts Stadium in Evansville.
Evansville cut a once 26-point second-half deficit back to just two points on two different occasions, with the last coming on a three-pointer from sophomore forward Stephanie Bamberger with 2:56 to play which cut the ISU lead to 54-52. But, from there, Krick took over, as she had a key assist and eight of her 21 points in the final 2:30 to help the Redbirds pull away for their 11th consecutive win on the season.
“Maggie Krick really hurt us tonight, especially down the stretch,” said UE head coach Misty Murphy. “When Kristi Cirone fouled out, Krick really took her game to another level and just made big play after big play to help Illinois State pick up the win.
“I could not be more proud of the way our team fought tonight though. This team and especially these seniors showed the kind of heart and determination and character which has been their trademark over the last four years. Unfortunately, the first half killed us.”
Illinois State led throughout, jumping to a 19-point lead at the half, 30-11, as Evansville could muster just three field goals and 13.0 percent shooting from the floor in the opening half. The Redbirds would then score 11 of the first 15 points of the second half to grab the game’s largest lead, 41-15, with 16:55 to play, before Evansville caught fire.
UE went on a 16-0 run over the next four minutes and four seconds to cut the Illinois State lead back to just 10 points, 41-31, with 12:51 to play. UE senior forward Robyn Jennings scored eight points to key the run, while rookie reserve Jordan Lewis ignited the run with a pair of transition lay-ups.
After an old-fashioned three-point play by Krick stopped UE’s 16-0 run, the Purple Aces used an 11-2 run over the next four minutes to trim the deficit back to just four points, 46-42, on a three-pointer from Lewis. UE would get the ISU lead back to just two points two minutes later on a diving tip-in by senior guard Ashley Austin with 6:33 to play.
The lead would be just four points when two-time MVC Player of the Year Kristi Cirone would pick up her fifth foul of the game with 4:46 left in regulation, but that is when Krick began to assert herself. Krick would hit a lay-up after a lay-up by junior center Nicolle Lewis to give the Redbirds back an eight-point lead, 54-46 with 3:43 to play.
An old-fashioned three-point play by Austin would get the lead to five on UE’s next possession, and Bamberger would follow with a three-pointer from the left wing with 2:56 to play to cut the ISU lead to 54-52, but that would be as close as Evansville would come.
Krick led all scorers with 21 points on 12-of-13 shooting from the foul line. Nicolle Lewis also added a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double for the Redbirds. Austin, meanwhile, paced Evansville with 15 points in her final game at Roberts Stadium, while Jennings chipped in 12 points and five rebounds. Bamberger and Lewis would both add nine points each for UE off of the bench, while senior center Shannon Novosel would add eight points and a team-best nine rebounds.
With the victory, Illinois State improves to 22-4 overall and 13-1 in the MVC. Evansville, meanwhile, slips to 10-16 overall and 3-12 in the Valley. The Purple Aces will now close the regular-season on a three-game road trip, beginning on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. when UE travels to Springfield, Missouri to battle the Missouri State Lady Bears. Friday’s game can be heard live on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.
