State Farm MVC Tournament Gameday Central
Ticket Info
Radio (WUEV)
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville women’s basketball team heads to St. Charles, Mo. this week for the 2011 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The Aces wrapped up the regular season with an 8-21 overall record and 3-15 mark in the MVC last weekend. With the No. 9 seed, UE will face No. 8 Bradley (14-15, 7-11 MVC) in the first round, Thursday at 5 p.m. CST at the Family Arena. Bradley has already beaten Evansville twice this season by scores of 65-58 (Jan. 23) and 66-59 (Feb. 17). However, as the old adage goes, it’s hard to beat the same team three times.
2011 MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Thursday, March 10 -- Session I
Game 1 -- #8 Bradley (14-15, 7-11) vs. #9 Evansville (8-21, 3-15), 5 p.m. [MVC Live]
Game 2 -- #7 Indiana State (14-15, 8-10) vs. #10 Southern Illinois (2-27, 0-18), 8:30 p.m. [MVC Live]
Friday, March 11 -- Session II
Game 3 -- #1 UNI (24-5, 17-1) vs. Winner Game 1, noon [MVC Live]
Game 4 -- #4 Creighton (18-11, 12-6) vs. #5 Wichita State (16-13, 10-8), 2:30 p.m. [MVC Live]
Friday, March 11 -- Session III
Game 5 -- #2 Illinois State (20-9, 12-6) vs. Winner of Game 2, 6 p.m. [MVC Live]
Game 6 -- #3 Missouri State (21-9, 12-6) vs. #6 Drake (15-14, 9-9), 8:30 p.m. [MVC Live]
Saturday, March 12 -- Session IV
Game 7 -- Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 1:30 p.m. [MVC TV Network]
Game 8 -- Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 4 p.m. [MVC TV Network]
Sunday, March 13 -- Session V
Championship -- Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 2 p.m. [MVC TV Network]
MVC TOURNEY
As the 2008-09 team showed, seed in the MVC Tournament isn’t everything. The 2008-09 team, headed by first-year coach Misty Murphy, was ranked ninth, just as the current Aces are, and battled through the brackets to take the title and earn a birth to the NCAA tournament. Three current Aces (Stephanie Bamberger, Chelsea Falkenstein, and Jordan Lewis) were on that championship team.
STOP! THIEF!
Evansville leads the Valley in steals, recording 283 on the year, averaging 9.8 in all games. In conference games only, the Aces average 10.4 just behind UNI’s and Bradley’s 10.5. Briyana Blair’s 2.8 per game vs. MVC foes ranks her second individually.
CALLING ON COLLINS
Sophomore Meagan Collins put up her 11th double figure game of the season and 15th of her career, tallying 10 points versus Missouri State. Collins made 5-of-10 from the floor, while also recording two rebounds, an assist, and a steal. She owns the team’s highest output of the season, scoring 23 points versus Eastern Washington on Nov. 27.
WHAT THE HECK
Sophomore Samantha Heck co-leads the Aces with 9.6 points per game. Heck earned all-tournament honors at the University of Colorado’s Omni Hotels Classic over Thanksgiving break, finishing the tournament with 31 points and 12 rebounds. Heck broke the tournament’s field goal percentage record, shooting 43.3 % (13-of-17) over the course of the two days, and made 7-of-7 in the come-from-behind win over Eastern Washington, tying the Classic’s record for single-game field goal percentage. Heck’s steady shooting piloted the Aces’ to a 10-point win after being down 16 in the first half. Against Colorado, Heck scored 15 points in the second half, including three straight baskets on the low block in an Aces’ 15-2 run, and gave Evansville the lead on a short jumper with six minutes remaining, erasing a 19 point first half deficit. Unfortunately, the UE was edged by the Big 12 Buffs, 55-53. In two seasons, Heck has recorded 491 points and 289 rebounds in her career.
DOUBLE THE FUN
Samantha Heck and Meagan Collins are the only current Lady Aces with a double-double on their resumes. Heck's first double-double (16 points, 12 rebounds) against Saint Louis on Dec. 22 marked the first by a UE player since Shannon Novosel tallied 20 points and 10 rebounds at Southern Illinois on March 7, 2009. She also recorded one vs. Illinois State on Jan. 29, with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Collins scored one of her own versus Drake (1/9/10) with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
BLAIR IT UP
In their last meeting with Bradley, junior Briyana Blair scored all 15 of her points in the second half to lead the Aces, while also recording seven rebounds, an assist, and four steals in the Aces' seven-point loss. Against Valley opponents, the Orlando, Fla. native averages 2.8 steals per game, good for second in the Valley.
GOOD SHOT
Against Missouri State, the Aces had their best shooting night in nine games, but it wasn’t enough as the Lady Bears shot 54.5 percent from the field and made 8-of-15 threes. The Aces shot 37.3 percent (22-for-59) from the floor which marked their best percentage since UE shot 40.3 percent versus Indiana State on Jan. 27.
BAM!
The Aces’ lone senior Stephanie Bamberger has been a mainstay in UE’s lineup, starting every game the past two seasons. She leads the team with 43 made three-pointers this year and has knocked down 103 in her career. She needs four more to tie Megan Liffick (2002-06) for 10th all-time at UE. Bamberger averages 1.4 per game, shooting 34.7 percent from behind the arc in conference games.
CLOSING TIME
Evansville played its final game at Roberts Stadium verus Wichita State on March 5. Opened in 1956 and completely renovated in 1990, the 11,600-seat facility has been the site of more than 1,000 UE basketball games. The Aces will be playing in a new $127 million arena in downtown Evansville next season.
FANTASTIC FRESHMEN
Freshmen Khristian Hart and Miranda Liles both had career games vs. Missouri State. Hart scored 11 points to lead the team on 3-of-3 shooting from the field, 1-of-1 from three, and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. Liles scored seven points in the first half and finished with nine, making two from the field and five at the free throw line. Liles also recorded two blocks and a steal. In the Aces’ final two games, Liles played a season-high 20 and 19 minutes, respectively.
CHELSEA LATELY
Junior Chelsea Falkenstein had a great start and a great finish to the 2010-11 regular season. Falkenstein started the year hot, scoring 17 and 16 points, respectively, in the Aces first two games of the year, including leading UE past powerhouse Bowling Green in the season-opener. In UE’s final three games, Falkenstein scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting vs. Indiana State (2/27), led the squad with six rebounds vs. Missouri State (3/3), and scored 10 points, including two three-pointers vs. Wichita State (3/5). The Evansville native experienced two month-long dry spells in which she did not reach double figures.
IMPRESSIVE WINS
This season the Aces played four non-conference teams that made post-season appearances in 2010. Against those teams, Evansville won three-of-four with wins against Bowling Green (NCAA), Eastern Washington (WNIT), and Butler (WNIT). Their only loss came to Wisconsin-Green Bay (NCAA) who currently sits at 29-1 and is ranked 11th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and 13th in the AP Top 25.
STARTING FIVE
The Aces have had five different starting lineups this season. Junior forward Chelsea Falkenstein and senior guard Stephanie Bamberger have started all 28 games this season.
TREY BIEN ELLERSON
When the Aces are in need of a three, freshman Katie Ellerson will most likely be on the court. The Wisconsin native ranks second on the team with 23 three-pointers made this season. She hit a career-high four versus Missouri State on Jan. 2. On the season, she is shooting 32.4 percent from behind the arc.
LOSS OF LEWIS
Jordan Lewis suffered a torn ACL and MCL in practice on December 15th. The junior guard started every game for the Aces this season up until the injury, averaging 7.2 points per game and 28.0 minutes on the court, while also adding 25 assists and 11 steals.
WHERE OH WARE
Sophomore Taylor Ware has served as a spark plug coming off the bench this season, and earned herself two starts late this season. Ware started at Illinois (2/24) and at Indiana State on (2/27). The Cincinnati native tallied a career-high nine rebounds at UNI on Feb. 19 and a season-high 10 points versus Creighton on Feb. 5.
EARLY SIGNEES
Coach Misty Murphy has announced the signing of three high school standouts to National Letters of Intent. Guards Juliann Miller (Louisville, Ky./Mercy Academy), LeiLoni Smith (Vian, Okla./Vian), and Kourtni Taylor (Akron, Ohio/Lake Ridge Academy) will make up the Lady Aces’ freshman class for the 2011-12 season.
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
This year’s team captains, decided on by the team and coaches are senior Stephanie Bamberger, junior Chelsea Falkenstein and junior Staci Gillum. Gillum, a transfer from Kirkwood Community College, was elected captain before playing a single game for the Aces. At Kirkwood, the Des Moines, Iowa native helped her squad to a 73-2 record and two national titles. Her second national title marked Kirkwood’s fourth straight.
GROWING LIKE A WEED
Freshman Hannah Weedman played a career-high 16 minutes against Creighton on Jan. 6 and recorded her first college points, tallying four on a basket and two free throws, while also adding a rebound and an assist. Against Northern Iowa on Jan. 21 she played 11 minutes and got in the scoring column again with a basket and tallied a career-high three rebounds. At 6’4, Weedman is the Aces’ tallest player.
DOUBLE SUCCESS
Although an 8-21 overall record and 3-15 Valley mark is far from a .500 record, the Aces saw much improvement this season from a year ago. UE doubled its number of wins from last season when Evansville finished the 2009-10 year with a 4-26 overall record and 1-17 mark in the MVC. The Aces will graduate just one player, Stephanie Bamberger, at the end of this year, and will have a strong cast returning for 2011-12.
