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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville women's basketball team will be on the court for the first time this season Saturday afternoon, when it hosts cross-town rival Southern Indiana.  The Purple Aces and Screaming Eagles are set for a 12 p.m. tip at the Ford Center, in what will be the lone exhibition game for both squads.
 
Evansville returns six letterwinners, including three starters from last season's team that finished 9-21 overall and 7-11 in Missouri Valley Conference matchups.  The Aces finished seventh in the final MVC standings last year, marking their highest finish since the 2007-08 campaign, when they claimed the Valley regular-season title. 
 
Juniors Khristian Hart returns as UE's top scorer from last season, joining fellow junior Mallory Ladd, who earned All-MVC Honorable Mention status in 2012-13. 
 
Hart was averaging 13.6 points and 2.3 assists per game as a sophomore, before suffering a season-ending ACL injury at Bradley (Jan. 31).  In her eight Valley contests, Hart was leading Evansville with a 14.0 points per game average.
 
Ladd led the Aces in rebounding a year ago (8.6 rpg) and averaged 10.9 points per outing, in addition to setting a UE single-season free throw percentage by sinking 74 of her 78 attempts from the charity stripe for a 94.9 percent clip.  The Evansville native posted seven double-doubles in her 19 games, as she sat out the first half of the season due to NCAA transfer rules.
 
Junior Kat Taylor and sophomore Laura Friday join Hart as returners in Evansville's backcourt, and seniors Katie Ellerson and Miranda Liles will add depth in the post. 
 
Taylor, who started the final 17 games of the season last year, averaged 4.3 points per game and dished out 46 assists to rank second on the team.  Friday led UE with a 36.0 three-point percentage and averaged 4.7 points and 1.6 assists per game in 29 contests as a true freshman.  Injuries limited Ellerson to just five games last season and Liles made 13 appearances off the bench, putting up 2.1 points and 1.4 rebounds per game.
 
Third-year head coach Oties Epps added six freshmen to his 2013-14 roster, which includes four guards and a pair of post players.  Sara Dickey, Kenzie Gustin, Paris McLeod and Dakota Weatherford will provide depth at the guard position, while Sasha Robinson and Caitlyn Russell will compete for playing time in the frontcourt.
 
Southern Indiana returns 11 letterwinners, including all five starts from its 2012-13 squad that finished 17-10 overall and 9-9 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
 
Anna Hackert, who was a preseason Women's Division II Bulletin Super 16 All-American selection, led the Screaming Eagles in scoring (14.7 ppg) and rebounding (9.6 rpg) during her sophomore season to earn First Team All-GLVC honors and a second time all-region selection.
 
Guard Stephanie Carpenter also averaged in double figures for USI last season (10.3 ppg) and shot 33.5 percent from beyond the arc.  Ariel Barnes led Southern Indiana with 93 assists and 51 steals last season and join Mary O'Keefe (9.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and Taylor Stevenson (6.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg) as the Eagles' other returning starters.
 
Evansville leads the all-time series with USI, 14-7, but the two teams have not met in a regular-season game since the 1987-88 season.  Last year, the Aces topped the Eagles, 65-47, in an exhibition tilt at the Ford Center.