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Evansville Postgame Quotes

Game Highlights (Courtesy of the NCAA)

SOUTH BEND, Ind.—The University of Evansville women’s basketball team saw its magical postseason run come to an end Sunday in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament, as second-seeded Texas A&M proved to be too much with an 80-45 victory over the Purple Aces at the Joyce Center on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.

After Evansville rallied for four victories in four days last weekend in the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, the high-scoring Texas A&M trio of Danielle Gant, Tanisha Smith, and Takia Starks proved to be too much, as the trio combined for 60 of A&M’s 80 points on the afternoon, including combining to score 17 points in a key 19-2 run minutes into the second half which blew open a 10-point game for the nationally-ranked Aggies.

“I could not be more proud of my team for the run that they have had in this postseason,” said UE head coach Misty Murphy.  “The heart, character, and determination they have shown says so much about them as leaders and young ladies, and I could not be more proud of a group of young women than I am of this team right now.

“Texas A&M is just a great team.   In the first half, we missed some opportunities where we could have been right there, but in the second half, they took their game to another level, and that is a credit to them.  They also scored 43 points off of turnovers today, and that was really the difference in the game.”

The Aggies jumped to an early 20-5 lead, but Evansville would hit eight of its next 10 shots to trim the deficit back to just seven points, 29-22, on a three-pointer from the left corner by freshman guard Kelsey Sperka with 1:36 to play before the half.  Starks and Gant would hit a pair of shots within 34 seconds of one another though to answer, and Texas A&M would eventually take an 11-point lead, 35-24, into the halftime locker room.

Texas A&M would score the first points of the second half on a lay-up by La Toya Micheaux to extend the lead out to 13 points, before UE senior forward Robyn Jennings would hit a three-pointer from the right-wing with 18:55 to play to get UE back within 10 points, 37-27, before A&M would explode offensively.  The Aggies would score 19 of the game’s next 21 points over the next seven minutes, as UE would be limited to just a pair of Ashley Austin free throws, to grab a 56-29 lead with 12:03 to play.  Gant would add seven of her game-high 21 points in the run, while Starks pitched in six points and Smith four to help Texas A&M advance on to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Gant led all scorers with 21 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the floor, while Smith added 20 points, four assists and four steals, and Starks pitched in 19 points.  No other Aggie had more than four points in the game.  Senior center Shannon Novosel led Evansville in her final game as a Purple Ace with 14 points and five rebounds, while fellow senior Ashley Austin joined her in double-figures with 10 points, five rebounds, and four steals.  Jennings added eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds as well for the Purple Aces in her final game in purple and orange.

Evansville will return seven players next year for head coach Misty Murphy, who became just the second first-year head coach in University of Evansville athletics department history to lead her team to the NCAA Tournament, joining women’s soccer head coach Krista McKendree.  The Purple Aces finish the 2008-09 season 15-19, but as State Farm MVC Tournament champions.