EVANSVILLE, Ind. – After a full month playing on the road, the University of Evansville women’s basketball team will finally return home for their first regular season game at the brand new Ford Center. The Purple Aces will take on Ball State University Tuesday at 5:15 p.m. CT. The UE men’s team will play afterwards at 7:35 p.m. versus Alabama State.
IF YOU GO
It’s “Take a Kid to a Game” day! Fans 12 and under get in free with a paid adult. Tickets are general admission and $8 for adults. Those who come for the women’s game can get into the men’s contest for free. Just exchange your women’s ticket at Will Call prior to the start of the men’s game.
CATCH THE ACTION
BALL STATE (2-3)
After starting the season 0-3, the Cardinals have rallied to win their last two contests, topping Murray State (81-72) on Nov. 19 and Oakland City (68-39) on Nov. 21. Off the bench, Jazmin Hitchens leads Ball State, averaging 14.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Brittany Carter (9.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg), Katie Murphy (7.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg), and Brandy Wood (7.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 27 assists) have started all five games and contributed to BSU’s 62.4 points per game.
EVANSVILLE (1-4)
The Aces come off their first win of the season, a 59-49 victory over Troy University at Maine’s Dead River Company Classic in Orono, Maine. UE fell to the tournament champions, Brown University, 55-47 on day one, but rallied to beat the Trojans in the consolation game Saturday. Senior
Briyana Blair was named to the all-tournament team, averaging 8.0 points and 11.0 rebounds across the two days. On the season, junior
Samantha Heck leads the squad with 10.8 points, followed by Blair (8.6 ppg, 8.4 rpg) and junior
Taylor Ware (7.4 ppg).
THE COACHES
UE - OTIES EPPS, (Wisconsin-Stout, ’02), 1st season at UE, 1-4 record
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.
BSU – KELLY PACKARD, (Anderson, ‘90), 4th season at Ball State, 51-50 record
In just her first season, Packard guided Ball State to its third straight MAC West Division title, its first MAC Tournament Championship and its first NCAA Tournament berth. Packard and the Cardinals stunned the women's basketball world when she coached her team to a 71-55 first round win in the NCAA tournament against the two-time defending national champions, the University of Tennessee.
A WIN OVER BALL STATE WOULD….
Make UE 2-4 on the season … Make UE 6-5 vs. Ball State all-time … Make UE 443-553 all-time.
A LOSS TO BALL STATE WOULD….
Make UE 1-5 … Make UE 5-6 vs. Ball State all-time … Make UE 442-554 all-time.
COMMON OPPONENTS
Evansville and Ball State have both played Murray State and Oakland City this season. UE fell to Murray State 76-61 on Nov. 11’s season-opener, while the Cardinals topped MSU 81-72 on Nov. 19. Both teams had convincing wins over Oakland City, as UE beat the Oaks 78-41 in exhibition play and Ball State beat OCU 68-39 in their most recent game.
BLAIR IT OUT
Earning all-tournament honors at Maine’s Dead River Company Classic, senior
Briyana Blair averaged 8.0 points and a team-high 11.0 rebounds, piloting Evansville to its first win of the season. Against Brown, Blair logged her first career double-double leading UE with 11 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. In UE’s 59-49 win over Troy, marking the Aces first victory of the season and first for head coach Oties Epps, Blair grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, while also tallying five points, five assists and two steals. Blair has reached double-figure points in 3-of-5 games this year.
EPPS’ FIRST WIN
First-year head coach
Oties Epps earned his first career victory Saturday, leading the Aces to a 59-49 win over Troy University. Epps is the 10th head coach in the 42-year history of women’s basketball at the University of Evansville.
HOME-OPENER SUCCESS
Dating back to the 1997-98 season, the Aces own a 12-2 record in regular-season home-openers. In the last five years, UE is 4-1, including last year’s 63-62 win over Bowling Green.
DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Briyana Blair’s double-double (11 pts, 14 rebs) versus Brown (11/25) marked the first for an Ace this season. Samantha Heck recorded two double-doubles last season, while Meagan Collins had one.
HECK OF A FINISHER
Samantha Heck, who leads the Aces averaging 10.8 points per game, averages 6.2 of those points in the second half and 3.6 points in the final 10 minutes of play. In UE’s season-opener at Murray State, Heck recorded 16 of her career-high 18 points after halftime.
A STREAK FREE SHINE
In 4-of-5 games, Evansville has outrebounded its opposition and owns a +1.6 margin on the season. Blair leads the squad, averaging 8.4 boards per game, followed by
Chelsea Falkenstein (6.6 rpg) and
Samantha Heck (5.0 rpg).
Taylor Ware has been UE’s strongest board crasher on the offensive end, totaling 15 of her season’s 18 rebounds at UE’s end of the court.
BE SURE WITH THE BALL
After turning the ball over 31 times in the season-opener at Murray State, the Aces have settled down and have done a much better job taking care of the ball. In the last two games, UE owned a +3.5 turnover margin (16.5/20.0) and scored 28 points off the other Dead River teams’ miscues.
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.
STUFFED
Evansville ranks fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference averaging 3.6 blocks per game. Senior
Chelsea Falkenstein leads the team with six on the season (1.2 blk/g) and ranks seventh on Evansville’s all-time block list with 53 in her career. To move up another spot, Falkenstein needs to log two more to tie for sixth place.
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.
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. Currently, UE ranks fifth in the MVC with 8.0 steals per game led by
Staci Gillum’s 1.6 per game.
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).
ACADEMIC ACES
With a collective 3.34 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
