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ST. CHARLES, Mo.—University of Evansville senior guard Ashley Austin scored 15 of her game-high 22 points in the second half on Friday, including a key three-pointer which sparked a 12-2 UE run four minutes after halftime, to power the Purple Aces past the top-seeded Illinois State Redbirds, 73-60, in the quarterfinals of the State Farm MVC Tournament at Family Arena in St. Charles, Missouri.
After the Redbirds were able to rally from a 10-point first half deficit to tie the game at 33-33 with 16:11 to play on a jumper by forward Ashleen Bracey, Austin took advantage of a scramble situation to connect on a deep three-pointer to ignite UE’s second-half charge. Rookie guard Kelsey Sperka would follow with a three-pointer two minutes later to push the UE lead to 39-34, and UE would eventually take a 45-35 lead after jumpers by Austin and freshman Jordan Lewis and a pair of free throws by rookie Eva Benson with 12:09 to play.
“Austin’s three-pointer really sparked our team,” said UE head coach Misty Murphy. “We knew that Illinois State would make a run, and when they did, to be able to answer with a big shot like that was huge.”
Evansville’s lead would remain near the 10-point mark for the next nine minutes, until five-straight points by MVC Player of the Year Kristi Cirone would trim the UE lead back to just five points, 59-54, with 2:22 to play. Evansville would respond though with six consecutive free throws over the next minute, while holding Illinois State to just two missed three-point attempts to retake a double-digit lead the Purple Aces would never lose.
“I am so proud of the focus that we played with today,” said Murphy. “That was our most complete effort of the season by far. You could see the confidence that our players had in their faces today. They had no fear and were confident that they were going to pick up the victory today.
“The biggest thing for us was our execution today, on both ends of the court. Offensively, I felt like we did a good job of moving the basketball and staying fluid in our offense all day. And, defensively, that was probably our best effort of the year.
“We are obviously excited to get this victory today, but our work is not done here this weekend.”
Austin led all scorers with 22 points, while also adding eight rebounds and four assists. UE senior center Shannon Novosel also added 13 points, seven rebounds, and a career-high five blocked shots, as the Purple Aces rejected nine shots on the afternoon. Benson also added a career-high eight points off of the bench for the Purple Aces, while senior forward Robyn Jennings chipped in eight points as well.
As a team, UE shot 42.0 percent from the floor (21-for-50), including 42.1 percent from three-point range on 8-of-19 shooting. Illinois State, meanwhile, could muster just 32.9 percent shooting from the floor against UE, including 3-of-17 shooting from three-point range (17.6 percent). Bracey led Illinois State (24-7 overall) with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Cirone added 16 points.
With the victory, Evansville improves to 13-18 overall and moves on to the semifinal round of the State Farm MVC Tournament against fourth-seeded Bradley. Tip-off is set for 5:05 p.m. and Saturday’s game can be seen live on Fox Sports Midwest and heard live in the Tri-State area on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.
