DES MOINES, Iowa – With the score tied at 55-55 with 3:35 to go, Drake hit its final six free throws of the game to seal a 63-55 victory, as the University of Evansville women’s basketball team came up just short against the Bulldogs for the second time this season, Thursday night at Drake’s Knapp Center. The Aces dropped to 7-14 overall and 2-8 in Valley play, while Drake improved to 10-11 overall and 4-6 in the MVC.

“Late-game decisions and poor shot selections continue to haunt us,” said Head Coach Misty Murphy after the Aces fifth straight loss. “I've got to control possessions during critical times and position our players in their strengths, and we have to do a better job defensively under tight situations,” she added.

Junior Briyana Blair led Evansville scoring wise with 16 points and six rebounds, while junior Staci Gillum, playing in front of her hometown fans, scored a career-high 12 points along with three steals. Sophomore Samantha Heck and senior Stephanie Bamberger also added seven points apiece.

Much of the first half belonged to the visiting Purple Aces as they gradually built up to a nine point lead, 18-9, on Blair’s strong take down the middle of the lane at the 11:08 mark. However, the Bulldogs responded with a 7-0 run cutting the deficit to two and then caught up to UE (20-20) on Rachael Hackbarth’s layup with 6:14 to go.

The squads traded baskets for the remainder of the stanza as junior Chelsea Falkenstein hit a jumper with 43 seconds to go to give UE a one point edge, but Drake knocked down the last shot of the half with 24 seconds left to give DU a 29-28 lead at the half.

Out of the break, Drake stretched their advantage to as much as six points on Kristin Turk’s three at the 14:17 mark, but the Aces battled back to even the score at 42-42 on freshman Miranda Liles’ free throw with 11:13 to go.

From there, the lead changed hands six times and tied back up three times in the remaining minutes. With 6:41 to go, sophomore Meagan Collins’ three-pointer gave Evansville a four point edge, 51-47, for the Aces’ largest lead of the half, but also their last, as the Bulldogs went on a 6-0 run.

The Bulldogs broke away after two free throws and a basket by Turk to take a 57-53 lead with 2:28 to go. Blair and Collins responded immediately with a free throw apiece on the other end to make it a one possession game again, but that is as close as the Aces would get as the Bulldogs scored the final six points of the contest.

Evansville shot 33.9 percent (19-for-56) from the field, 20 percent (5-for-25) from three-point range, and 75 percent (12-for-16) from the free throw line on the game, compared to Drake’s 42.9 field goal percentage, 35.7 three-point percentage, and 76.9 free throw percentage.

The Aces took advantage of DU’s 15 turnovers, scoring 18 points off of them, but the Bulldogs’ 42-33 plus on the glass led to 17 points on second chances for Drake.

Turk anchored DU with 28 points, followed by Kayla Person’s 15 and Hackbarth’s 12 points.

The Aces are back in action Saturday morning, facing Creighton at 11:05 a.m. CST in Omaha, Neb.