EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- No. 10 seeded University of Evansville takes on No. 7 Drake in the first round of the 2012 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament Thursday at 7:05 p.m. at The Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. The Aces look for their first win over the Bulldogs this season, falling 67-53 in Des Moines (1/14) and 55-51 in Evansville (2/12). UE also looks to capture its first win over Drake in the conference tournament, as the Bulldogs own a 4-0 advantage. The last time DU and UE met in tournament play was 2010’s first round. The Bulldogs won 73-62. Evansville enters the weekend with a 13-9 record all-time in 11 MVC Tournament appearances.

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Thursday

No. 10 Evansville

vs. No. 7 Drake

7:05 p.m. CT

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THE SERIES
Drake leads the all-time series, 30-10, topping Evansville in the last 10 meetings. UE’s last win over the Bulldogs was an overtime victory, 69-66, in Des Moines on Feb. 14, 2008. The Aces won both regular season meetings that year, also topping Drake, 62-57, at home on Jan. 20. However, in their third meeting of ’08, Drake edged UE, 61-58, in the semi-finals of the MVC Tournament, marking their first of the streak that goes till this day.

IT’S MILLER TIME
Making her first start of the season, freshman Juliann Miller had a career game with a co-team-high 14 points and seven rebounds versus Illinois State (3/1). In a career-high 29 minutes on the floor, Miller shot 6-for-11 from the field and 2-for-2 from the line, also adding an assist and block. Miller also started against Indiana State and contributed six points and three rebounds. On the week, the Louisville, Ky. native averaged 10.0 points and 5.0 rebounds, shooting .500 percent (9-18) from the floor.

HECK OF A WEEK
Junior Samantha Heck piloted the Aces offense in the last weekend of the regular season, averaging 12.5 points and 10.0 rebounds. Versus Illinois State, Heck logged a co-team-high 14 points, along with a squad-best nine boards. Against Indiana State, she recorded her sixth career double-double, tallying 11 points and 11 rebounds, while also adding three steals and two blocks, breaking into UE’s single-season top-10 with 30 blocks this year. Heck also reached the 500 rebound milestone vs. the Sycamores, now with 501 boards in her career.

BOARD MILESTONES
In UE’s final regular season game, Samantha Heck surpassed the 200 single-season rebound mark as well as the 500 career board milestone. She currently has 208 rebounds this year and 501 in her three-year career. She needs 17 more boards to break into UE’s all-time career top-10.

WARE’S A SCHOLAR ATHLETE
Taylor Ware was named a second team MVC Women’s Basketball Scholar Athlete this week. Ware recently received the James M. Hall Jr. Outstanding Engineering Student Scholarship Award which is selected by the Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science as the most outstanding at junior class standing based on scholastic achievement, extracurricular activities, character, responsibility, attitude and potential for professional growth. Ware has a 3.80 cumulative GPA in Mechanical Engineering, while averaging 6.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.

COLLINS TOO
Meagan Collins was named an honorable mention MVC Women’s Basketball Scholar Athlete this week. Collins ranks second on the team, averaging 9.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, and has played in all 29 contests with 22 starts. The Boonville, Ind. native was named UE’s Vectren Student-Athlete of the Week (2/13) earlier this year. She owns a cumulative 3.32 GPA in Exercise Science.

SENIOR DAY
Saturday marked the last home game for seniors Staci Gillum and Jordan Lewis. Gillum transferred to UE as a junior after winning two National Championships at Kirkwood Community College. The consensus junior college All-America selection became a consistent two-year starting point guard for the Aces, starting every contest this season. Lewis overcame a number of injuries, including last season’s torn ACL that ended her season after nine games. Lewis led Evansville to a Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Championship in 2009, scoring 13 points in UE’s come-from-behind victory over Bradley that sent the Aces to the title game.

THE CHAMPS ARE BACK
Chelsea Falkenstein and Jordan Lewis are the only two players remaining on the team from the 2009 MVC Tournament Championship squad. Lewis scored a season-high 13 points in UE’s come-from-behind win over Bradley in the semifinals, scoring 11 of them in the final 3:09 of regulation and overtime. She knocked down a game-tying three with 9.2 seconds left in regulation. Falkenstein also had four key points in that semifinal win. Falkenstein will not play this tournament due to a torn ACL, but she will be back next year.

STATE FARM MVC TOURNAMENT
Since joining the Valley in 1993, UE has won two MVC Tournament titles --  2009 as the No. 9 seed and 1999 as the No. 4 seed. As the No.9, UE marks the lowest seed to ever win the tournament.
 
OVERTIME FREE
The Aces went the entire season without playing an overtime game. UE’s last overtime game occurred Jan. 9, 2011, in which the Aces fell 69-62 to Drake. The last season UE ended every game in regulation was 2006-07.
 
LAST WEEKEND RECAP
The Aces come off an 0-2 weekend, falling 62-59 to Illinois State (3/1) and 58-47 to Indiana State (3/3).
ILS - After trailing for nearly the entire game, junior Meagan Collins’ post move on the low block gave the hosting Aces the lead, 59-58, with 1:36 to go in the contest. However, Illinois State answered with a layup, stopped UE on the defensive end with a block, and made both free throws when the Aces were forced to foul , edging UE, 62-59, Thursday night at the Ford Center. Freshman Juliann Miller had a career game with 14 points and seven rebounds. Junior Samantha Heck also logged 14 points, along with nine boards, while classmate Meagan Collins reached double figures with 11 points and seven rebounds.
INS - In the final game of the regular season and Senior Day at the Ford Center, UE fell 58-47 to the visiting Indiana State Sycamores. Samantha Heck led Evansville with her sixth career double-double, tallying 11 points and 11 rebounds, while classmate Meagan Collins also reached double figures with 10 points. Taylor Ware added eight points, and senior Staci Gillum contributed seven points and four assists, playing all 40 minutes. Gillum and fellow senior Jordan Lewis were honored in a postgame celebration.
 
SUCH A GOOD HELPER
Versus Illinois State Thursday, senior Staci Gillum recorded a career-high nine assists, while also adding seven points. In her career she has accrued 161 assists, averaging 2.7 per game, and 3.1 helpers per game this season.
 
CALLING ON COLLINS
Junior forward Meagan Collins has reached double figures in each of the last three games heading into the tournament. She led Evansville offensively at SIU (2/26) with a game-high 18 points and seven rebounds. She shot a team-best 50.0 percent (6-12) from the field, and made 1-of-2 from three and 5-of-7 from the free throw line. In Valley contests this season, Collins is averaging 10.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
 
BUILDING BLOCKS
Recording two blocks in UE’s regular season finale, Samantha Heck tied Jamie Gray (2003-04) with 30 and broke into UE’s single-season top-10 record book. Now with 59 career blocks, she holds sole possession of sixth all-time at UE. She needs four more to move up another spot in the career list.
 
ON PACE FOR 1,000
Samantha Heck has accumulated 884 points in her nearly three-year career, putting her well on pace to reach 1,000 career points with one year of eligibility remaining. Heck would become the 18th player in program history to reach the milestone.
 
DOUBLE DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Samantha Heck’s double-double at SIU (2/26) with 10 points and 10 rebounds marked her second consecutive double-double. The previous weekend, Heck logged 21 points and 11 rebounds at Wichita State (2/19). The back-to-back feat marks the first time since Robyn Jennings did so in the 2008-09 season. Jennings logged 12 points and 10 rebounds vs. UAB (11/28) and 13 points and 14 rebounds at Samford (11/29) the next day.
 
MVC MILESTONES
Scoring six points at Wichita State (2/19), Meagan Collins recorded her 400th career point in Valley games. Samantha Heck’s 10 points at Southern Illinois (2/26) put her over the 500-point mark in MVC contests, now with 534.
 
STARTING LINE
Evansville has used eight different starting lineups this season with point guard Staci Gillum and forward Samantha Heck serving as the only players to start all 29 games. Heck has started 40 games consecutively for the Aces; the longest streak among active players. For the first time in nine games, Coach Epps changed the lineup at Bradley (2/2), swapping in Miranda Liles for Meagan Collins in the forward position. The lineup changed again at UNI (2/4) with Liles staying and Collins replacing Briyana Blair who had started the previous ten straight games. The starters were Gillum, Ware, Collins, Liles, and Heck for seven consecutive games before Juliann Miller made her debut vs. Indiana State (3/1), replacing Liles.
 
FALKENSTEIN OUT
Senior Chelsea Falkenstein will be out the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. Falkenstein injured her knee in UE’s game at UT Martin on Dec. 16. Because she missed two games earlier this season due to a concussion suffered versus Ball State on Nov. 29, she is eligible to redshirt. Falkenstein averaged 3.6 points and 5.5 rebounds before the season-ending injury. She had surgery on Friday, Jan. 20th.
 
COPY KAT
Freshman Kat Taylor will also be out the remainder of the season due to a torn ACL occurring in practice on Monday, Jan. 16th. Taylor played in 13 games in her rookie campaign, averaging 1.8 points, and 1.1 rebounds.
 
MIRANDA RIGHTS
Miranda Liles is one of UE’s most improved players this season. She played limited time early in the year but earned a starting role at Bradley (2/2) and played 30+ minutes in four consecutive games. Liles scored nine points in her first career start in a then career-high 32 minutes of play. In her second start at UNI (2/4), Liles also had a career game with five rebounds and matched a best 11 points in 36 minutes on the floor. She also started and played 38 minutes in UE’s win over Creighton (2/9), grabbing a career-high seven rebounds and scored five points.

HECK OF A STREAK
Samantha Heck extended her double-figure point streak to 14 games vs. Wichita State (1/19), scoring all 10 points in the second half. Heck owns the longest double-digit streak since Meagan Liffick in the 2005-06 season when Liffick scored 10 or more points in the first 19 games of the year and in 28-of-29 games. However, the streak came to an end after 14 when Missouri State (1/21) held her to four points. Currently, Heck has reached double figures in each of the last six games.

BOMBS AWAY
Against Drake (2/12), Evansville had a big game from behind the arc, knocking down a season-high 10 threes in a season-high 30 attempts. Senior Staci Gillum drained a career-high four threes (4-9), while junior Taylor Ware matched her career-high, going 2-for-2 from downtown. Junior Samantha Heck also made two (2-6). The last time UE hit 10 or more threes as a team was Dec 3, 2010 when the Aces topped Valparaiso, 69-67.
 
LAST WIN
Snapping a 31-day and seven-game winless drought, Evansville overcame Creighton, 48-45, in front of 3,000 cheering elementary school kids Feb. 9th. The victory marked UE’s first over the Jays since the No. 9 Aces beat the No. 2 Jays, 47-45, in the title game of the 2009 MVC Tournament Championship.

COLLINS COMMANDS CREIGHTON
Junior Meagan Collins piloted Evansville to a 48-45 win over Creighton, leading the Aces with 18 points, going 6-for-8 from the field, and grabbed seven rebounds. With 1:32 remaining in the game, Collins knocked down a three in the corner that gave UE a two-point lead, then secured the rebound on the other end and sealed the win with a free throw after Creighton was forced to foul.
 
FAST B.R.E.A.K.
Nearly 3,000 students from the local school districts were in attendance at UE’s game vs. Creighton as part of the Future Purple Aces Fast B.R.E.A.K. (Basketball Reinforcing Education to Area Kids) program. The program helps young kids apply the subject of math to real-life situations using the game of basketball. UE has won their last two Fast B.R.E.A.K. games, topping CU this year and edged Butler, 51-49 (12/7) in 2010.
 
A STREAK-FREE SHINE
UE dominated the glass at Northern Iowa (2/4), outrebounding the Panthers 42-29 while outscoring UNI 14-0 on second chances. The +13 rebounding margin matched a season-best for the Aces, done twice before in wins over Eastern Kentucky (12/2) and Murray State (12/10).
 
HOT SHOTS
Against UT Martin, Evansville recorded its highest field goal percentage, .558 percent (29-for-52), since the Aces shot .567 percent against Bradley on Feb. 2, 2004 (81-65 win). It also marked the first times UE has broken the 50 percent mark, since Jan. 26, 2008 when the Aces shot 53.4 percent versus Southern Illinois (77-67 win). On the season, UE is shooting .360 percent from the field.
 
1,000 GAMES
UE’s game at UT Martin (12/16) marked the 1,000th game in program history. The Aces currently own a 446-573 (.438) all-time record dating back to the 1969-70 season -- UE’s first year of women’s basketball.
 
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.
 
ADLARD TO HALL OF FAME
A class of 11 women and men who have made significant contributions to Indiana high school basketball will be welcomed as inductees when the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame celebrates their 11th Women’s Induction Class on April 28, 2012. Among those inductees is UE’s all-time leading scorer, Shelly Brand Adlard. Adlard racked up 1,713 points in her career as a Purple Ace and also graduated as the school’s all-time leader in assists, steals, field goals made, and free throws made. Currently, she still holds the record for field goals (718), now ranks third in assists (448), sixth in steals (164) and seventh in free throws made (277).  In addition, she was the NCAA Division I national free throw percentage leader in the 1983-84 season.
 
LADD COMES HOME
Arguably one of the best players to come out of Memorial High School, Mallory Ladd has decided to transfer from Valparaiso University back home to play for Coach Oties Epps and the University of Evansville Purple Aces. Ladd, who scored 1,803 points in her high school career and grabbed a school-record 1,163 rebounds, led Memorial to the 3A state championship with a 28-1 mark in her senior year. She was named Indiana Miss Basketball runner-up and was a first team all-state selection in 2011 by the Associated Press and Hoosier Basketball Magazine. In the first month of the 2011-12 season, the 6’1 freshman forward played in six games with the Crusaders, averaging 10.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, also shooting 91.3 percent (21-23) from the free throw line. As per NCAA transfer rules, Ladd will have to sit out one year, but will be eligible to join the Aces on the court in the second semester of the 2012-13 season.
 
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.