EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Purple Aces are trekking where no University of Evansville women’s basketball team has ever been before, traveling to Orono, Maine this week for the University of Maine’s Dead River Company Classic. The Aces take on Brown University Friday at 3:00 p.m. CT (4pm ET) in the first round of the tournament. UE will face either Troy University or the hosting Black Bears Saturday in the consolation (11am CT) or championship game (1pm CT).
CATCH THE ACTION
SETTING THE STAGE
Evansville is in search of its first win of the 2011-12 season and first career win for first-year head coach Oties Epps. The Aces have never met any of the Dead River Company Classic participants in program history, so new opposition could make for a fresh and new start for Evansville this weekend. Facing Brown first, the Aces own a 2-0 record against Ivy League teams (one win apiece vs. Penn and Princeton).
EVANSVILLE (0-3)
The Aces come off an 0-2 weekend in Ohio, falling to Cincinnati (64-34) and Bowling Green (71-54). On the season, junior
Samantha Heck leads the offense, averaging 10.7 points per game, followed closely by senior
Briyana Blair (9.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and junior
Taylor Ware (8.7 ppg).
BROWN (1-3)
The Bears come off Tuesday night’s 64-49 loss at Bryant. Hannah Passafuime led the squad with 15 points in the defeat. On the season, Passafuime and Sheila Dixon lead Brown offensively, both averaging 15.5 points per game. Dixon also pilots the Bears with 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists, along with 10 steals on the year. Brown earned their first win of the season versus Albany on Nov. 19 by a score of 65-53.
THE COACHES
UE - OTIES EPPS, (Wisconsin-Stout, ’02), 1st season at UE
Epps enters his first season as Evansville’s head coach. Epps spent the last three seasons at the University of Wisconsin as an assistant where he helped lead the Badgers to a 56-31 record and three postseason appearances. Wisconsin played in the WNIT in 2009 and 2011, and earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2010 for the first time since 2002.
BROWN - JEAN MARIE BURR, (New Hampshire, ‘77), 24th season at Brown
The winningest coach in Brown basketball history (men's and women's), Burr has compiled 15 winning Ivy League seasons, including three consecutive League Titles from 1991-94.
A WIN OVER BROWN WOULD…
Make UE 1-3 … Give coach Oties Epps his first career victory … Make UE 1-0 vs. Brown all-time … Make UE 3-0 vs. Ivy League teams all-time … Make UE 442-552 all-time … Advance the Aces to Saturday’s championship game.
A LOSS TO BROWN WOULD…
Make UE 0-4 … Postpone coach Oties Epps’ opportunity to gain his first career victory until Saturday’s game … Make UE 0-1 vs. Brown all-time … Make UE 2-1 vs. Ivy League teams all-time … Make UE 441-553 all-time … Place the Aces in Saturday’s consolation game.
OUT OF NO-WARE
Coming off the bench, junior
Taylor Ware led Evansville last week, averaging 13.0 points and 6.5 rebounds, while shooting 46.7 percent (7-15) from the floor and 92.3 percent (12-13) from the free throw line. Ware crashed the boards all weekend, recording 11 of her 13 rebounds on the offensive end. Against the Bearcats, the Cincinnati native finished with nine points, seven boards, and two steals in front of her hometown fans. At Bowling Green, Ware led the Aces offensively with a career-high 17 points, shooting 4-for-6 from the floor and had a perfect 9-for-9 performance at the free throw line. Ware also added six rebounds, five of them offensively.
EASTWARD BOUND
Evansville is venturing where no UE women’s basketball team has ever been before, traveling to Orono, Maine this week for the University of Maine’s Dead River Company Classic. Orono, which is 1,087 miles from Evansville, Ind., is located at a latitude of 44° 52’ 59” N and a longitude of 68° 40’ 21” W. The trip will mark the furthest east the Aces have ever played in program history.
NEW OPPOSITION
The University of Maine, Brown University, and Troy University are the three other teams competing in the Dead River Company Classic this week. UE has never played any of these schools before. Taking on Brown in the first round Friday, UE owns a 2-0 record against Ivy League teams (one win apiece vs. Penn and Princeton). If UE plays Troy on day two, it will mark UE’s 14th meeting (2-11) with a team from the Sun Belt Conference. If the Aces play Maine on Saturday it will mark UE’s first time playing a team from the America East Conference.
A STREAK FREE SHINE
In 2-of-3 games, Evansville has outrebounded its opposition and owns a +0.3 margin on the season. The Aces lead the conference with 28.7 defensive rebounds per game led by senior Briyana Blair’s average of 5.7 defensive boards. Junior
Taylor Ware has been cleaning up the glass on the offensive end for UE, ranking third in the MVC with 3.7 offensive rebounds per game. Eleven of her 13 rebounds last weekend were offensive.
TIME TO TURN IT AROUND
The last time UE started the season 0-3 was in 2009 when the Aces dropped their first six contests and finished the year 4-26 overall. However, the penultimate time UE started the season 0-3 was in 2005 when Evansville went on to finish 16-13 overall and 11-7 in the Missouri Valley Conference, proving that there’s still plenty of season left for the Aces to turn a slow start into a winning season.
THIS TIME LAST YEAR
Over Thanksgiving last year, the Aces competed in Colorado University’s Omni Hotels Classic in Boulder, Colo. UE fell to the hosting Buffs, 55-53 (11/26/10), but rallied to beat Eastern Washington, 77-67, in the consolation game.
Samantha Heck was named to the all-tournament team, breaking the tournament’s field goal percentage record (43.3%) and single-game field goal percentage record (7-for-7 vs. EWU).
BE SURE WITH THE BALL
The Aces look to cut down on turnovers this weekend after giving up 23 points on 23 turnovers at Bowling Green (11/20). At Murray State (11/11), UE gave up the ball 31 times, which has largely contributed to their 24.3 turnovers per game stat. UE took better care of the ball at Cincinnati (11/18), turning it over 19 times, while forcing the Bearcats into 21 on the defensive end.
ACES SIGN TWO FOR 2012-13
Oties Epps announced on Nov. 9 the signing of two high school standouts to National Letters of Intent. Guard Laura Friday (Marion, Ind./Marion) and forward Michaela Prough (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) will make up the Lady Aces’ freshman class for the 2012-13 season.
FALKENSTEIN CLIMBS BLOCKS LIST
Recording two blocks in UE’s loss at Murray State and one at Cincinnati, senior
Chelsea Falkenstein is now seventh on Evansville’s all-time block list with 50 in her career. To move up another spot, Falkenstein needs to log five more to tie for sixth place.
QUEST FOR FIRST WIN
First-year head coach Oties Epps looks for his first career win this weekend. Epps is the 10th head coach in the 42-year history of women’s basketball at the University of Evansville. The Aces have reached post-season play four times, including twice in the past four years.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Purple Aces moved to a new home this season after closing the doors of Roberts Stadium, a building built in 1956. Evansville opened play at the brand new downtown Ford Center, a $127 million arena with a capacity of 10,316, on Oct. 29 in an exhibition game with Oakland City. UE’s first regular season contest at home will be Nov. 29 versus Ball State.
MORE EXPERIENCED SQUAD
Evansville lost just one player,
Stephanie Bamberger, from the 2010-11 squad to graduation. Returning 11 letterwinners, including four seniors, three juniors, and four sophomores, the Aces will have a much more experienced team this season. UE also welcomes two freshmen and three new coaches on staff as the Aces get a fresh start in 2011-12.
SWIPES
Last season, Evansville led the Missouri Valley Conference in steals, averaging 9.8 per game. Returning for her senior season, Briyana Blair piloted the Aces with 71 steals last year, averaging 2.4 per contest.
O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
Senior
Staci Gillum and junior
Samantha Heck have been named the 2011-12 team captains for the University of Evansville women’s basketball team. Gillum, a native of West Des Moines, Iowa, served as the Purple Aces’ captain and point guard last season, averaging 4.2 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, playing in all 30 contests. A transfer from Kirkwood Community College, Gillum was also a captain and led the Eagles to a 73-2 overall record and a pair of national titles in her two years, while also earning NJCAA All-America honors. Heck, an Auxvasse, Mo. native, led the team with 4.9 rebounds per game and finished second on the squad with 9.3 points per game in her sophomore season, while also recording two double-doubles. As a freshman, Heck recorded over 200 points and 100 rebounds in her rookie season, ranking second on the team in both categories at 7.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
SQUAD SUMMARY
The Aces return 11 letterwinners from last season, including four starters in senior
Briyana Blair (9.5 ppg), junior
Samantha Heck (9.3 ppg), junior
Meagan Collins (8.5 ppg), and senior
Chelsea Falkenstein (6.1 ppg). Redshirt junior
Jordan Lewis will also make a comeback after a knee injury knocked her out of commission last December. Also returning: senior point guard
Staci Gillum, junior
Taylor Ware, and sophomores
Katie Ellerson,
Khristian Hart,
Miranda Liles, and
Hannah Weedman. Evansville also has two freshmen joining the program in
Kat Taylor (Akron, Ohio/Lake Ridge Academy) and
Juliann Miller (Louisville, Ky./Mercy Academy).
FRESHMAN DEBUTS
In their first collegiate game,
Kat Taylor saw 19 minutes of action at Murray State, recording five points, all scored at the line with her 5-for-6 performance. She also added two assists and two steals in her debut.
Juliann Miller logged eight minutes on the court, going 1-for-1 from the field, pulling down two rebounds and tallying one assist and two points.
ACADEMIC ACES
With a collective 3.340 grade point average, the University of Evansville women’s basketball team ranked 24th in the nation on the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s Academic Top 25 Honor Roll for 2010-11 season. The honor marked the third time in the last five years in which the Purple Aces have ranked among the nation’s Top 25 academically.
ACES PICKED NINTH IN PRESEASON POLL
In the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll voted on by the league’s 10 coaches, sports information directors, and media members, Evansville was tabbed to finish ninth in the conference standings. Missouri State earned the most votes, coming off a 24-11 season in 2010-11.
1. Missouri State
2. UNI
3. Wichita State
4. Creighton
5. Indiana State
6. Illinois State
7. Drake
8. Bradley
9. Evansville
10. Southern Illinois
