Box Score

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – A stellar season opener took place on Friday evening as the University of Evansville women's basketball team went on a 27-6 run in the second half on their way to a dominating 81-46 victory over Eastern Illinois in their regular season opener at the Ford Center on Friday evening.

Leading a contingent of five Aces in double figures were freshman Sara Dickey and junior Kat Taylor, who finished the night with 13 points apiece. Paris McLeod tallied 12 while Mallory Ladd and Miranda Liles each finished with 11. The effort by Liles tied her career scoring high, which was set on two previous occasions.

Turnovers made all of the difference as the Aces defense forced EIU into a total of 30 while committing just 14 of their own. The shooting defense was also hitting on all cylinders, holding the Panthers to just 25% shooting on the night and 2-of-17 from long range.

Both teams had trouble finding their shot in the first half. Evansville shot 32%, connecting on 8 out of 25 attempts while their defense was solid in holding Eastern Illinois to 5-of-25 from the floor.

After the Purple Aces took a 2-0 lead on a pair of Dickey free throws, the Panthers reeled off seven points in a row, hitting three out of four shots in the stretch to go in front for the first time. Evansville's offense missed its opening four field goals before Miranda Liles converted a 3-point play at the 15:14 mark to make it a 7-6 score. On the ensuing possession, freshman Paris McLeod turned an EIU turnover into a breakaway layup, putting the Aces back on top.

After Eastern Illinois took a 17-13 lead midway through the half, the Aces clamped down over the remainder of the period, outscoring the Panthers by a 15-4 margin on their way to a 28-21 halftime advantage. The Aces led by as many as eight tallies on a Sasha Robinson free throw inside the final minute of the half.

Through the opening 2+ minutes of the contest, EIU hit 3 of their first six shots, but in the final 17:53, the Aces were stout, holding them to just 2-of-19. The 3-point defense of the Aces was even more impressive as they held EIU to just 1-11. Dickey was UE's top scorer in the half with eight tallies.

Out of the break, UE picked up right where it left off as Dickey and Kat Taylor combined for 7 points to give the Aces a double-digit lead at 35-23. The rally did not stop there. After the Panthers cut their deficit to single figures at 37-28, Evansville came back with 10 points in a row, connecting on four shots in a row while forcing EIU turnovers on three consecutive possessions.

Pivotal to that run was true freshman Dakota Weatherford. Making her first collegiate start, the guard hit a pair of layups while forcing a turnover. That rally extended to 27-6 as the Aces went up by a 58-33 margin. The margin kept growing from there and made its way to a 35-point final with an 81-46 UE win.

The margin of victory was the largest since January 15, 2011 when Evansville dealt conference rival Southern Illinois a 79-45 loss.

Following a 32% shooting effort in the opening stanza, the women improved in the second half, hitting 18 out of 35 shots to finish the night at 43.3%. The rebounding battle also turned in the second half. Eastern Illinois held a 24-18 edge in that department at the half before Evansville turned the tides, outrebounding EIU by a 21-14 margin to finish the game with a 39-38 edge.

Points off turnovers (35-6), points in the paint (34-14) and points off the bench (33-6) all were significantly in favor of the Aces.

On Monday, the Aces will look to build off of tonight's win as they face Murray State. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Ford Center.