EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Hosting the second annual Aces Winter Classic, the University of Evansville women’s basketball team will welcome Eastern Kentucky, Marshall, and Chicago State to the Ford Center this weekend.
Marshall and Chicago State open the tournament Friday at 5:00 p.m. CT with the Purple Aces facing Eastern Kentucky afterward at 7:30 p.m. Evansville will play at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, win or lose, versus either Marshall or Chicago State.
IF YOU GO
Tickets are general admission - $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and youth.
CATCH THE ACTION
MARSHALL (3-2, 0-0 Conference USA)
The Thundering Herd come off two straight wins, topping Morehead State, 83-68, on Nov. 23 and Nebraska-Omaha, most recently, 54-48, last Sunday. Shynisha Johnson leads the team, averaging 12.6 points per game. She has also knocked down 14 threes, shooting 53.8 percent from behind the arc. Jasmine Shaw (7.5 ppg) along with four players averaging points in the six per game range, including Leandra King (6.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg), have contributed to the Herd’s 67.0 points per game team average.
CHICAGO STATE (0-7, 0-0 Great West)
The Cougars enter the weekend in search of their first win of the season, suffering a -29.7 scoring margin this year. They come off Monday’s 66-39 loss to Hampton. Jana Dockery (12.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and Paris Williams (9.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg) lead Chicago State offensively.
EASTERN KENTUCKY (2-4, 0-0 Ohio Valley)
The Lady Colonels come off Tuesday’s 97-61 rout over Kentucky Christian University, using a 22-5 first half run to push them ahead to their second victory of the season. The Colonels’s first win of the year was over Western Michigan by a score of 71-60 (11/20). On the season, Marie Carpenter leads the squad, averaging 11.7 points per game, followed by Raechele Gray’s 10.0 points per game. Jade Barber, a transfer from Ball State, was named the Ohio Valley Conference’s Newcomer of the Week, becoming the first EKU player to record 20 rebounds in a game in 15 years, done against Appalachian State (11/25). She is currently averaging 9.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, also adding 11 blocks.
EVANSVILLE (1-5, 0-0 Missouri Valley)
The Aces come off Tuesday’s home-opening loss to Ball State by a score 55-50. Junior
Samantha Heck led all players with 12 points, followed by
Briyana Blair’s 10 points and seven rebounds. UE recorded its first win of the season, a 59-49 victory over Troy University at Maine’s Dead River Company Classic in Orono, Maine on Nov. 26. On the season, Heck (11.0 ppg), Blair (8.8 ppg, 8.2 rpg), and
Taylor Ware (7.5 ppg) lead the Aces’ offense.
A UE WIN OVER EASTERN KENTUCKY WOULD…
Make UE 2-5 on the season … Make UE 1-2 vs. EKU all-time … Make UE 443-554 all-time … Advance UE to Saturday’s championship game.
A UE LOSS TO EASTERN KENTUCKY WOULD…
Make UE 1-6 on the season … Make UE 0-3 vs. EKU all-time … Make UE 442-555 all-time … Put UE in Saturday’s consolation game.
ALL-TIME SERIES
EKU – The Aces are 0-2 vs. Eastern Kentucky all-time, meeting in the 1983-84 and 1984-85 seasons. In their last meeting, UE was edged 71-70 at home.
Marshall – UE is 1-0 against the Herd, topping Marshall, 89-77, on Nov. 9, 2007, in the WNIT Preseason Tournament and Aces’ first game of the year.
Chicago St. – Evansville is a perfect 6-0 vs. the Cougars, last meeting Chicago State in the 1992-93 season. UE won that contest, 81-63, on the road.
LATE GAME WOES
In the past three games, UE has struggled to get shots to fall in the last five minutes of play and have been outscored 29-8, averaging a -7.0 scoring margin. Versus Brown (11/25), the Aces were 0-5 from the field, all taken behind the arc. Against Troy (11/26), UE was 2-7 from the floor and 0-3 from three, and vs. Ball State, UE was 0-6 from the field and 0-4 from three in the closing minutes.
MISSING PIECE
The Aces will be missing a key piece of their lineup this weekend in
Chelsea Falkenstein who suffered a concussion in the first minute of play versus Ball State. Falkenstein entered Tuesday’s game averaging 4.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per 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 last 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.
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.
A STREAK-FREE SHINE
In 5-of-6 games, Evansville has outrebounded its opposition and owns a +1.5 margin on the season. Blair leads the squad, averaging 8.2 boards per game, followed by
Chelsea Falkenstein (5.5 rpg) and
Samantha Heck (5.2 rpg).
Taylor Ware has been UE’s strongest board crasher on the offensive end, totaling 18 of her season’s 25 rebounds at UE’s end of the court. As a team, UE’s performance this season on the glass is much improved from last year, in which the Aces were outrebounded in 24-of-30 games and had a -7.4 rebounding margin.
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 done a much better job taking care of the ball. In UE’s two games in Maine, the Aces owned a +3.5 turnover margin (16.5/20.0) and scored 28 points off the other Dead River teams’ miscues.
OTIES EPPS SHOW
“The Oties Epps Show,” hosted by Mike Radomski airs live from the UE Bookstore in the Ridgway University Center on the UE campus from 12-12:30 p.m. on Tuesday afternoons. Fans are invited and encouraged to come out and be a part of the show and meet the coaches and players of the UE women’s basketball team. Fans can also listen in online at both wuev.org and GoPurpleAces.com.
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 3.8 blocks per game.
Chelsea Falkenstein and
Briyana Blair lead the team with six apiece on the season. Falkenstein 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. The Aces are in search of their first win of the regular season under the Ford’s roof.
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.
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 7.8 steals per game led by
Staci Gillum’s 1.7 per game, good for 10th individually in the league.
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
