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NORMAL, Ill. – The University of Evansville women's basketball team (8-7, 3-1) starts the weekend with a road game at the Illinois State Redbirds on Friday, Jan. 16. The game will be held at Redbird Arena and begin at 7:05 p.m.
 
Evansville enters this game after winning their last contest 86-46 against Bradley at home on Monday night. The Aces set a program record with a 40 point victory. Since joining the Missouri Valley Conference for the 1994-95 season, Evansville has never won by as many points in an MVC game. Four Evansville players recorded double digit scoring efforts including a game-high 28 points from guard Sara Dickey, who also achieved a career-high with seven assists. Forward Mallory Ladd joined the 500 rebound club in the win and tied Kathy Sloan ('85-87) for 8^th most blocks in program history with 55.

The Aces defense has yielded an MVC low 48.5 points per game in Valley play.
 
On the stat sheet, Evansville's Dickey leads UE with 18.3 points, 3.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Ladd is second on the team with15.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Ladd is also first on the Aces with 13 blocks this season. Forward Sasha Robinson owns a team-high 7.7 rebounds per game. UE is averaging 66.1 points and 33.1 rebounds per game. The Aces make 42.0% of their field goals, 37.4% of threes, and 64.9% at the free throw line.
 
Illinois State (0-14, 0-3) has yet to win a game this regular season and will be looking for their first win since Mar. 14, 2014. The Redbirds lost their last game 73-41 at Northern Iowa on Sunday. Guard Katy Winge netted a team-high 12 points in the loss.
 
Statistically, forward Octavia Crump leads Illinois State with 11.2 points per game. Winge is also averaging double figures at 10.2 points per game. Guard Colleene Smith is bringing in a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game. Guard Taylor Stewart pilots the Redbirds offense with 30 assists this season. Illinois State is averaging 52.0 points and 37.9 rebounds per game. The Redbirds shoot 33.9% from the floor, 25.4% beyond the arc, and 64.3% at the free throw line.
 
Evansville is projected to finish fourth in the MVC preseason poll, their highest projection since 2008-2009. Dickey was also named to the preseason All-Conference team. The Aces are guided by fourth year head coach Oties Epps. Illinois State was slated to finish eighth in the MVC preseason poll and did not have any players named to the preseason team. Barb Smith is the second year head coach of the Redbirds. Illinois State leads the all-time series 27-14 against Evansville but the teams split their meetings last season.
 
Evansville's next home game will be on Friday, Jan. 23 when the Aces put their 6-0 home mark and 10-game home winning streak on the line against Northern Iowa. The tip is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Ford Center. Tickets can be purchased over the phone at 812-488-ACES (2237), in person at either the Carson Center or Ford Center ticket office, or online via Ticketmaster.com.