EVANSVILLE NOTES  |  MISSOURI STATE NOTES  |  WICHITA STATE NOTES  |  LIVE AUDIO  |  LIVE VIDEO  |  LIVE STATS

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville women’s basketball team will look to improve on its three-game winning streak and keep pace in the Missouri Valley Conference standings this weekend, when it welcomes MVC foes Missouri State and Wichita State to the Ford Center.  The Purple Aces will take on the Lady Bears Friday at 11 a.m., before hosting the MVC-leading Shockers Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
Evansville (6-10, 4-1 MVC) is off to its best start in conference play since the 2006-07 campaign after picking up a pair of road victories at Illinois State and Indiana State last week.  The Aces downed the Redbirds, 71-57, Thursday behind sophomore Mallory Ladd’s sixth-straight double-double and use a strong defensive effort to hold a late rally by the Sycamores for a 55-54 win Saturday.  The last time a UE squad started 5-1 or better in league play was during the 1998-99 season, when the Aces lost their MVC opener to Missouri State, before rattling off nine-straight victories.
 
Ladd earned MVC Newcomer of the Week honors for the second-straight week, recording 18 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks at Illinois State, and 10 points and four boards at Indiana State.  Ladd also extended her made free throw streak to 44 by hitting all seven of her attempts from the charity stripe, a mark that ties her for the second-longest streak in Valley history. 
 
Redshirt sophomore Khristian Hart also finished in double figures in both games for UE, dropping in 14 points against the Redbirds and a team-high 11 in the win over the Sycamores.  Senior Samantha Heck added 16 points and seven rebounds at Illinois State, before turning in a nine-point, eight-rebound performance at Indiana State.
 
On the season, Ladd leads Evansville in scoring (15.1 ppg) and rebounding (9.9 rpg), and is an impressive 44-for-45 from the foul line.  Hart is averaging 13.6 points per contest and leads the Aces with 37 made three-pointers and 17 steals.  Heck is also averaging in double figures at 13.5 points per outing, is second on the team in rebounding (7.8 rpg) and owns a team-best 45.4 percent shooting percentage.
 
Missouri State (9-8, 1-4 MVC) enters Friday morning’s tilt having lost four of its last five, with the Lady Bears’ lone league win being a narrow, 80-77, triumph over visiting Drake.  MSU fell to Creighton, 73-53, in its last outing in Springfield, Mo.  Missouri State failed to have a player reach double figures, but all 12 Lady Bears that saw action recorded at least one point.  Kenzie Williams tallied eight points, four rebounds and three steals, while Whitney Edie added six points, five boards and a game-high two blocks.
 
The Lady Bears are averaging 70.4 points per game, but are surrendering 73.9 points per contest and allowing opponents to connect at a 36.7 percent clip from behind the arc.  In Valley play, MSU is giving up 76.2 per outing and opponents are hitting treys at a 44.6 percent rate.  In addition, Missouri State has struggled from the free throw line this season, hitting just 61.0 percent of its attempts from the charity stripe, including a 59.2 percent clip in league games.
 
Three Missouri State players are averaging in double figures this season with Edie leading the way at 14.8 points per game.  Edie has also been top rebounder for the Lady Bears, pulling down 8.4 boards per contest.  Williams ranks second on the squad at 10.9 points per outing and leads the squad with 36 steals.  Christiana Shorter is pitching in 10.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, while Hannah Wilkerson is averaging just shy of double figures at 9.9 points per contest.
 
Missouri State returns eight letterwinners and three starters from last season’s squad that finished 24-9 overall and claimed the MVC regular-season title with a 14-4 mark in league play.  Head coach Nyla Milleson, who is in her sixth season at the helm of the program, a 100-78 record at MSU and a 285-114 mark in her 12-year coaching career.
 
Wichita State (11-6, 5-0 MVC), the MVC’s last unbeaten team in league play, will battle Southern Illinois Friday in Carbondale, Ill., before making the trip to Evansville for Sunday’s contest.  The Shockers have won eight of their last nine games, including five straight.  Last weekend, WSU toppled Creighton, 67-45, to claim sole possession of first place in the MVC standings, prior to posting a 70-51 victory over visiting Drake.  Alex Harden, who was named the MVC Player of the Week, led Wichita State with 20 points in its win over the Bluejays and added 11 points and a game-high eight assists against the Bulldogs.
 
The Shockers have been winning with defense, as they are holding opponents to a paltry 52.2 points per game, a mark that ranks second in the Valley.  WSU is shooting a league-best 42.4 percent from the field and own a league-best field goal percentage defense, limiting foes to just a 37.0 percent shooting percentage.  Wichita State also leads the league in blocked shots (3.8 bpg) and turnover margin (+3.59), and is second in the Valley in steals (9.6 spg).  However, the Shockers have struggled to find their mark from distance and are shooting a league-worst 27.5 percent from three-point land.
 
Jessica Diamond leads a balanced scoring attack for the Shockers with a 13.8 points per game scoring average and is the only WSU player averaging in double figures.  Harden is second on the squad in scoring (8.5 ppg) and rebounding (4.4 rpg), while Kelsey Jacobs is pitching in 7.3 points and 3.6 boards per contest, and owns a team-high .500 shooting percentage.  Michelle Price is averaging a team-high 4.6 rebounds per game and is one of seven Shockers averaging at least 3.3 rebounds per outing.
 
WSU returns eight letterwinners and three starters from last year’s squad that finished 20-13 overall and third in the Valley with a 12-6 conference mark.  Wichita State is led by fifth-year head coach Jody Adams, who owns a 79-67 in her tenure at WSU and is 103-75 in her six-year coaching career.
 
Missouri State owns a 30-9 advantage in the all-time series with Evansville and has won the last eight meetings.  The Aces’ last victory over the Lady Bears was an 82-74 win in 2008.
 
The Shockers hold a slim, 20-18, lead over UE in the all-time series, as WSU won both meetings last season.  Evansville’s last win over Wichita State was during the 2010-11 season, when the Aces won 74-66 in Wichita, Kan.