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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The No. 7 seed University of Evansville women’s basketball team will open the 2013 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Thursday at 7:05 p.m., when it takes on No. 10 seed Southern Illinois at The Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo.
 
Evansville (9-20, 7-11 MVC) will be looking for its first MVC Tournament win since 2009, when the Purple Aces won four games in as many days to capture the tournament title.  UE swept Southern Illinois in the regular-season series, earning a 71-65 victory Jan. 13 at the Ford Center, prior to topping the Salukis, 52-41, Feb. 9, at SIU Arena in Carbondale, Ill.
 
The Aces closed their regular-season by splitting a pair of games last weekend at Creighton and Drake, falling to the Bluejays, 74-69, in overtime, before rebounding with a 70-59 win over the Bulldogs in their regular-season finale.  Senior Samantha Heck earned MVC Player of the Week honors by averaging 20.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game last weekend, notching her fifth double-double of the season at Creighton by scoring 21 points and pulling in 13 rebounds.  Fellow senior Meagan Collins led UE in its win over Drake, scoring a game-high 20 points, while redshirt senior Chelsea Falkenstein narrowly missed her first career double-double by scoring nine points and grabbing 11 boards.
 
Evansville enters the MVC Tournament averaging 57.8 points per game and shooting 38.4 percent from the field.  The Aces rank second in the Valley in free throw percentage (75.2%) and are hitting 31.9 percent of their shots from behind the arc, a mark that ranks four in the conference. 
 
Heck, an All-MVC Second Team selection who leads the team and ranks eighth in the MVC in scoring at 14.1 points per game, is also among the league’s top shooters, as the Auxvasse, Mo., native ranks third in the league in field goal percentage (48.9%), three-point field goal percentage (39.5%) and free throw percentage (90.7%).  In addition, Heck ranks second on the team and eighth in the conference in rebounding (7.6 rpg). 
 
Sophomore Mallory Ladd, who earned All-MVC Honorable Mention recognition, missed UE’s last two games due to a foot injury.  Ladd ranks second on the team in scoring (10.9 ppg) and leads the squad in rebounding at 8.7 boards per contest, a mark that ranks second in the MVC.  The Evansville native is also on pace to break the Aces’ single-season free throw percentage record, as she has knocked down 94.7 percent of her free throw attempts, a mark that ranks second among Valley players.
 
Collins is adding 8.6 points and 3.3 rebounds per outing, while Falkenstein ranks third on the team in rebounding (5.5 rpg) and blocks (12).
 
Southern Illinois (4-25, 1-17 MVC) enters Thursday’s contest having lost its last 16 games.  The Salukis are 15-19 all-time in the MVC Tournament and claimed titles in 1987 and 1990.  SIU’s last win in the MVC Tournament came in 2008, when they topped Bradley in an opening round game.
 
Southern Illinois averages 60.6 points per game, but is giving up a league-worst 75.0 points per game.  The Salukis shoot 37.9 percent from the field, 31.6 percent from beyond the arc and 63.7 percent from the free throw line.  SIU is getting outrebounded by 6.1 boards per game and average 18.3 turnovers per contest.
 
Sophomore guard Cartaesha Macklin leads Southern Illinois and ranks second in the MVC in scoring (14.9 ppg).  Macklin also leads the Valley with 4.3 assists per game and has dished out a team-high 125 assists.  Dyana Pierre leads the conference in rebounding (8.8 rpg), has hauled in 10 or more rebounds in 12 games this season and ranks third on the team in scoring (7.8 rpg).  Rishonda Napier is adding 10.9 points per contest for SIU and has made a team-high 51 three-pointers.
 
Evansville holds a slim, 24-23, advantage in the all-time series with Southern Illinois and the winner of Thursday’s game will advance to face No. 2 seed Creighton Friday at 6:05 p.m.