EVANSVILLE NOTES  |  CREIGHTON NOTES  |  LIVE AUDIO  |  LIVE VIDEO (THURS.)  |  LIVE VIDEO (SAT.)  |  LIVE STATS (THURS.)  |  LIVE STATS (SAT.)

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville women’s basketball team will wrap up its regular season this week with trips to Creighton and Drake, and Missouri Valley Conference Tournament seeding implications will be on the line.  The Purple Aces are slated to take on the Bluejays Thursday at 7:05 p.m. at D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha, Neb., before making the trip to Des Moines, Iowa, for a 2:05 p.m. contest Saturday with the Bulldogs.
 
Evansville (8-19, 6-10 MVC) will be looking to snap a six-game losing skid this week, after it dropped a pair of home games to Northern Iowa and Bradley last weekend at the Ford Center.  The Aces fell, 70-57, to the Panthers, before suffering a 73-57 defeat to the Braves on Senior Day.  Senior Samantha Heck led UE with 18 points against BU and was one of three Evansville seniors to score in double figures.  Meagan Collins scored 14 points on a 6-for-11 effort from the field and Taylor Ware tallied 12 points off the bench.
 
The Aces are averaging just 56.9 points per game, but rank sixth in the league in scoring defense, allowing opponents to score 64.9 points per contest and shoot 40.2 percent from the field, a mark that ranks fifth in the Valley.  UE ranks in the top three in the MVC in a pair of categories, including free throw percentage (75.1% - 2nd) and three-pointers made (169 - 3rd).
 
Individually, Heck leads Evansville in scoring (13.6 ppg), field goal percentage (47.7%) and blocked shots (21), and ranks second on the team in rebounding (7.4 ppg) and free throw percentage (90.5%).  Over her last four games, the senior center is averaging 18.0 points per outing and shooting 63.6 percent from the field.  Ladd leads the Aces in rebounding (8.7 rpg) and is tied for first in league with an 8.4 rebounding average in league games.  In addition, Ladd ranks second on the squad in scoring (10.9 ppg) and is on pace to break the Aces’ single-season free throw percentage record with a league-best 94.7 percent clip.  Collins ranks third on the team in scoring (8.0 ppg) and has scored in double figures in each of her last two games.
 
Creighton (21-6, 13-3 MVC) enters Thursday’s game on a five-game winning streak and trails league-leading Wichita State by just a half game in the MVC standings.  The Bluejays held off Drake, 67-66, in their only game last week in Omaha.  Marissa Janning scored an arena-record 29 points in the victory, including 23 of CU’s 37 second-half points.  McKenzie Fujan also scored in double figures, finishing with 11 in the win.
 
Creighton leads the nation in three-pointers made per game, as the Bluejays knock down 9.4 triples per contest.  In addition, the Bluejays rank ninth in the country in three-point shooting percentage, as they own a 37.4 percent clip from beyond the arc.  CU averages 66.6 points per game and is shooting 42.4 percent from the field.  Creighton also shoots 74.7 percent from the free throw line and has tallied 446 around 401 turnovers.
 
Janning leads the Bluejays in scoring at 13.7 points per game and is the Valley’s top three-point shooter at 42.9 percent from long range.  Sarah Nelson is CU’s second-leading scorer (11.8 ppg) and is leading the team in rebounding at 7.7 boards per contest.  Nelson is also Creighton’s top shooter, hitting 49.6 percent of her attempts.  Ally Jensen is tied for second on the team in rebounding (4.3 rpg) and is a three-point specialist for the Bluejays, as she is shooting 37.1 percent from three-point land, hitting 59 of her 159 attempts.
 
Drake (9-18, 4-12 MVC) has gone 2-3 in its last five games and will host Southern Illinois Thursday, before welcoming the Aces to the Knapp Center for Saturday ‘s season finale.  The Bulldogs dropped a heartbreaker to Creighton, 67-66, last weekend in Omaha and were led by Kyndal Clark’s 18 points.  Morgan Reid notched a double-double for DU, scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, while Stephanie Running finished in double figures with 10 points.
 
Drake is averaging 65.5 points per game, but the Bulldogs are allowing opponents to score 69.7 per contest.  The Bulldogs shoot 40.1 percent from the field and are hitting three-pointers at a 32.6 percent clip.  However, DU has struggled from the charity stripe this season, connecting on just 67.9 percent of its attempts from the free throw line. 
 
Clark has been Drake’s top scorer this season, averaging 15.0 points per game and ranks second on the team in rebounding at 4.7 boards per contest.  Reid leads the squad in rebounding (8.0 rpg) and blocks (19), and is second on the team in scoring (11.0 ppg) and steals (42).  Mary Pat Spech, who averages 7.4 points per outing, is Drake’s top threat from long distance, hitting a team-best 37.8 percent of her three-point attempts, and also leads the Bulldogs with a 86.2 percent free throw percentage.
 
Creighton leads the all-time series with Evansville, 30-11, and defeated the Aces, 70-63, earlier this season at the Ford Center behind a school-record 16 treys.  Drake also owns a 30-11 advantage against UE in the all-time series, but it was Evansville that won the meeting earlier this season, as the Aces earned a 68-62 victory over the Bulldogs in Evansville.