EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville women’s basketball team will host its final home game of the 2011 calendar year, welcoming familiar opponent Murray State to the Ford Center Saturday at 2:00 p.m. CT. The Purple Aces look to avenge their season opening, 76-61, loss in Murray, Ky. played on Nov. 11.
 
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.

CATCH THE ACTION

Saturday

Evansville

Murray State

2:00 p.m. CT

Live Stats

Audio

Video

 
EVANSVILLE (2-6) – The Aces come off a second-place finish in the Aces Winter Classic, topping Eastern Kentucky, 63-56, on day one, and falling to Marshall in the championship, 60-48. Samantha Heck was named to the all-tournament team and leads UE with 11.1 points per game this season. Senior Briyana Blair (9.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg) in addition to juniors Taylor Ware (6.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg) and Meagan Collins (6.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg) have also been steady on offense for the Aces.
 
MURRAY STATE (3-5) – The Racers are in search of their first away-win of the season, owning a 3-0 home record and 0-5 mark on the road. Murray State comes off a 78-64 victory over Saint Louis piloted by Erica Burgess’ 21-point contribution. MSU has been a part of two 100-point games this season, overcoming Mid-Continent 103-48 on Nov. 17 and falling to Louisville 105-62 in their most recent road contest on Nov. 29. Burgess leads the team with 15.8 points per game, also adding 4.0 rebounds, a team-high 35 assists, and 3.6 steals per game, good for 21st in the nation. Mariah Robinson (12.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg) has also contributed to the Racers’ 72.2 points per game, while Kyra Watson (6.6 ppg) leads the squad averaging 6.0 boards per contest.
 
THE COACHES
OTIES EPPS, (Wisconsin-Stout, ’02) 1st season at UE, 2-6 record
Epps is in his first season as Evansville’s head coach. Epps spent the last three seasons at the University of Wisconsin 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.
 
ROB CROSS, (Murray State, ’91), 4th season at MSU, 50-52 record
Cross was named the Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year in his first year at the helm of the program. He led the Racers to a 16-2 mark in the OVC, earning the team’s first OVC regular-season title that year.
 
A WIN OVER MURRAY STATE WOULD…
Make UE 3-6 on the season … Make UE 12-17 vs. Murray State all-time … Make UE 444-555 all-time.
 
A LOSS TO MURRAY STATE WOULD…
Make UE 2-7 on the season … Make UE 11-18 vs. Murray State all-time … Make UE 443-556 all-time.

RACERS REMATCH
Evansville takes on Murray State Saturday at home, marking a rematch of November 11th’s season-opener in which the Aces fell 76-61. In that loss, MSU’s full court pressure for all 40 minutes was too much as UE turned the ball over a season-high 31 times. UE looks to close the gap in the all-time series that the Racers lead 17-11.
 
HECK OF A WEEK
Earning all-tournament honors in Evansville’s Aces Winter Classic, junior Samantha Heck averaged 11.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and also totaled 10 assists across the two days, piloting Evansville to its first home win of the season. In the three-game week, Heck led UE averaging 11.7 points and 7.7 boards. Against Ball State, the Auxvasse, Mo. native scored a game-high 12 points, also adding six rebounds and three assists. Heck advanced the Aces to the championship game of their invitational with 11 points, a season-high nine boards, and a career-high eight assists in UE’s 63-56 win over Eastern Kentucky. Against Marshall, Heck had another stellar game, recording 12 points and eight rebounds. On the season, the 6’2 center averages a team-high 11.1 points per game.
 
EKU WIN
In UE’s 63-56 win over Eastern Kentucky, Evansville shot a season-high 40.4 percent from the field, compared to EKU’s 33.8 percent, which marked the lowest percentage UE has limited their opponent to this year. Evansville also had a season-high 20 assists in the game, led by Samantha Heck’s career-high eight. The victory also marked UE’s first regular season win under the brand new Ford Center roof.
 
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Against Eastern Kentucky Briyana Blair recorded the second double-double (17 pts, 10 rebs) of her career and second this season. Her first versus Brown (11 pts, 14 rebs) on Nov. 25 marked the first for an Ace this season. Blair averages 9.3 points per game, ranking second behind Samantha Heck (11.1) and leads the squad with 8.4 rebounds per game.
 
MVC LEADERS
As a team, UE ranks third in the Missouri Valley Conference with 4.1 blocks per game. Individually, Briyana Blair, Taylor Ware, and Samantha Heck rank in the top 10 in a number of categories...
Blair – 2nd – defensive rebounds – 6.5/game
Blair – 3rd – blocks – 1.4/game
Blair – 4th – rebounding – 8.4/game
Blair – 5th – assists – 3.6/game
Ware – 6th– free throw % - .850 (17-20)
Heck – 9th – free throw % - .810 (17-21)
 
LOTS OF HELPING HANDS
Against EKU, the Aces tallied 20 assists in the win, marking the first time since Dec. 4, 2010 vs. Central Michigan (20) that UE logged 20+ assists in a single game.
 
STRAIGHT UP “D”
UE ranks 34th in the nation for personal fouls, committing an average of just 14.3 per game. Evansville has yet to have a player foul out this season.
 
CALLING ON COLLINS
Junior Meagan Collins got better and better over the weekend, recording a season-high 12 points against EKU and then topped it on Saturday versus Marshall, logging a game-high 16 points.

GROWING LIKE A “WEED”
Sophomore Hannah Weedman grabbed a career-high six rebounds in 10 minutes of play versus Eastern Kentucky. Just eight games in, Weedman has already doubled her freshmen points total (6/12) and surpassed her first-year total rebounds (11/13).
 
CASHING IN AT THE CHARITY STRIPE
Briyana Blair’s career-high 11 free throws (11-for-16) versus EKU marked the most individual free throws made in a game since Amy Gallagher went 10-for-13 versus Wichita State on Jan. 28, 2010. It also marked the most foul shots attempted in a game since Nov. 15, 2008 when Ashley Austin also went to the line for 16.
 
WHAT’S AHEAD
After UE’s game against Murray State, the Aces take to the road for the last two non-conference games of the season, heading to UT-Martin on Fri. Dec. 16 and Mizzou on Mon. Dec. 19. Evansville opens MVC play at Indiana State on Dec. 30. UE’s first home game of the 2012 year is Jan. 5 versus Northern Iowa.

BLAIR NAMED MVC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Briyana Blair was selected as the Prairie Farms/Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week for the period of November 21-27, announced by Commissioner Doug Elgin. Blair averaged 8.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game, as the Purple Aces fell to Brown (55-47 on November 25) and defeated Troy (59-49 on November 26) at the Maine Dead River Company Classic. An all-tournament team selection, Blair, who has a 3.62 cumulative grade-point average in physical therapy, logged her first career double-double with 11 points and a career-best 14 rebounds against Brown.  Versus Troy, she collected a team-high eight boards and registered five points, five assists and two steals.
 
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.
 
A STREAK-FREE SHINE
In 6-of-8 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
 
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. Evansville won their first regular season game under the Ford’s roof on Dec. 2 with a 63-56 win over Eastern Kentucky.

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.

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.

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