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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – A superb defensive effort allowed the University of Evansville women's basketball team to end its six-game losing streak , as the Purple Aces limited visiting Northern Iowa to a 31 percent shooting clip in their annual "Hoops for the Cure" event in a 59-50 victory Saturday afternoon at the Ford Center.  The win also marked the first UE triumph over UNI since the 2008 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, snapping an 11-game slide.
 
Junior Mallory Ladd, who had missed the last six games for Evansville (8-14, 3-8 MVC) due to injury, returned in a big way, as she scored a game-high 19 points and was one of four Aces to record seven rebounds.  Freshman Sara Dickey ended the afteroon with 17 points and seven boards, to become just the ninth Valley freshman since 1993-94 to score 400 or more points in a single season.  Fellow freshman Dakota Weatherford also filled the stat sheet, as she scored just six points, but added seven rebounds, and led UE with five assists and five steals.
 
Northern Iowa (11-11, 7-4 MVC) grabbed an early 5-0 lead, after Brooke Brown sank a three-pointer and Stephanie Davison converted a layup, but Evansville's zone defense quickly began to take effect, as Brown's triple would prove to be the only made three for the Panthers in the first half.
 
Junior Kat Taylor and Ladd knocked down back-to-back trifectas to give the Aces their first lead at 6-5 with 15:54 remaining in the half, before UE outscored UNI, 11-6, over the next 10:47 to grab a 17-11 advantage with just over five minutes remaining in the opening stanza.
 
Points continued to be at a premium for the rest of the half, as Amber Sorenson knocked down a jumper at the 2:58 to bring Northern Iowa back within four at 19-15, but Evansville scored the final five points of the first half, when Dickey made a free throw after being fouled on a layup and Weatherford drained a transition jumper, to take a 24-15 advantage into the locker room.
 
The 15 first-half points was the least allowed by UE this season and tied a Ford Center record for the least amount of points given up in a half, tying last year's effort against Indiana State.  Northern Iowa shot just 20.6 percent (7-for-34) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes and went 1-for-20 (5.0 percent) from long range, as the Panthers would miss 20-straight three-point attempts spanning into the second half.
 
Evansville also had its struggles from the field in the first half, going 8-for-30 (26.7 percent) from the floor and 2-for-8 (25.0 percent) from behind the arc, but the Aces committed just three personal fouls and did not allow UNI a  first-half free throw attempt.
 
UE continued its stingy defense into the second half and took its first double-digit advantage with 16:54 remaining in the contest, when Dickey connected on a deep, straightaway three.
 
Northern Iowa used a 7-2 run to trim Evansville's lead to 33-28, when Jen Keitel grabbed an offensive rebound off of her own missed layup and put it back up and in with 13:47 showing on the clock.
 
However, the Aces would gradually begin to extend their lead from that point forward, as Ladd made a short jumper to put UE back up, 40-28, with just over 10 minutes to play and a pair of free throws by freshman Sasha Robinson would give Evansville at 15-point advantage, 55-40, at the 3:33 mark.
 
Dickey made a driving layup with just 2:19 remaining to give the Aces their largest lead of the afternoon at 57-40.  The Panthers finished the contest by scoring nine of the final 11 points to make the final score 59-50, but the UE victory was well in hand.
 
Four UNI players finished in double figures, including Hannah Schonhardt, who posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.  Keitel, Davison and Brown also added a team-high 11 points apiece in the loss.
 
Both teams shot considerably better in the second half, with Northern Iowa posted a 42.9 percent second-half clip (12-for-28), while Evansville shot an even 50.0 percent (13-for-26) over the final 20 minutes.
 
The Aces will head to Normal, Ill., for their next contest, as UE will visit Redbird Arena, Friday, Feb. 14, for a 7:05 p.m. matchup with Illinois State.