Box Score
Printable Box Score

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Second-half shooting and strong perimeter defense paved the way for the University of Evansville women's basketball team in its 80-67 victory over in-state foe IPFW Wednesday morning at the Ford Center on Education Day in front of over 3,000 school children.  Four Purple Aces scored in double figures, including junior Mallory Ladd and freshman Sasha Robinson, who both finished with double-doubles.
 
Ladd finished with a season-high 24 points on a 9-for-13 shooting effort to lead Evansville (4-4) offensively and collected 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the year.  Robinson established career highs by scoring 14 points and hauling in a game-high 14 rebounds, as the Nashville, Ind., native finished 7-for-10 from the field.  Fellow freshman Sara Dickey added 15 points and junior Kat Taylor finished with 14.
 
Amanda Hyde supplied nearly half of the offense for IPFW (4-5), as she scored a game-high 32 points and notched 25 of them in the second half.  The Summit League Preseason Player of the Year knocked down 10 of her 13 shot attempts, went 11-for-12 at the free throw line and added a team-high 10 rebounds.
 
The Aces used an early run, capped by a three-pointer from freshman Paris McLeod, to jump out to a 10-4 lead in the opening five minutes of the contest, before the Mastodons grabbed their second lead of the game on a jumper by Ariana Simmons at the 11:19 mark in the first half to make the score 13-12.
 
The two sides traded baskets for the majority of the next seven minutes, before UE was able to put together an 8-0 run and take a 24-17 lead after a pair of free throws by freshman Dakota Weatherford with 3:55 to play in the opening stanza.
 
IPFW cut the lead to four, 24-20, on its next possession on a made triple by Haley Seibert, but Evansville scored eight of the final 12 points of the half and led 32-24 at the intermission.
 
Taylor led all players with nine points at the break and Dickey added eight first-half points for the Aces, as UE shot 33.3 percent from the floor, going 11-for-33 in the opening 20 minutes.  Defensively, UE limited the Mastodons to a 1-for-12 first-half effort from beyond the arc and held IPFW without a first-half offensive board.
 
In the second half, Evansville shot 50.0 percent from the floor, in large part to a combined 12-for-14 effort from Ladd and Robinson.  Ladd also grabbed four offensive rebounds in the second half and the Aces committed just four turnovers in the final 20 minutes of action.
 
UE opened the half on yet another run, as Taylor converted a transition layup following a steal by Weatherford to give Evansville a 43-28 lead and force an IPFW timeout at the 16:27 mark.
 
Hyde began to take over the second half for the Mastodons, as she made two of her 10 second-half free throws with 14:00 left to play to cap a 9-2 spurt and bring IPFW back within eight at 45-37.
 
A basket by Robinson and a Ladd free throw pushed the Aces' lead back to double digits, 50-38, less than two minutes later, but Hyde once again had an answer, as she assisted on a three by Stefanie Mauk, before sinking two more free throws to cut the margin to 50-43 at the 11:23 mark.
 
Evansville once again regrouped and would let the Mastodons get no closer than eight points the rest of the way, while maintaining a double-double lead for a majority of the final 10 minutes of the half.
 
The Aces sealed the victory by going 11-for-13 from the charity stripe over the final 1:17, as IPFW began to foul in an effort to extend the game.
 
UE finished the afternoon 27-for-65 from the field (41.5 percent) and went 19-for-23 at the free throw line (82.6 percent).  In addition, Evansville limited the Mastodons to a 20.0 percent clip from three-point range (5-for-25) and an overall shooting percentage of 39.0 percent (23-for-59).
 
For the game, both teams tallied 30 points in the paint, but UE outrebounded the Mastodons, 45-32, and turned 13 offensive rebounds into 13 second-chance points.
 
Evansville will look to push its record back over .500 this weekend, when it travels to Troy, Ala., Sunday afternoon for a non-conference tilt with Troy.  Tip is slated for 2 p.m.