EVANSVILLE – An impressive fourth quarter surge saw the University of Evansville women's basketball team put visiting IUPUI on its heels late, but unfortunately for the Purple Aces, the visiting Jaguars were able to make the plays down the stretch in a 68-62 decision at the Ford Center on Tuesday evening.
"We took huge strides in the right direction tonight," UE head coach Oties Epps said. "That was a really good team that we played, but we can't turn the ball over like we did. They're an aggressive and attacking team, so we have to be more precise, and we just weren't where we needed to be. That said, we're a lot better today than we were last time we were on the court. Now it's just a matter of getting everyone on the same page and ready to compete, and we're making those steps."
With the loss, UE fell to 1-10 on the year, and IUPUI improved to 9-4.
Sara Dickey, who registered double-digit points for a fifth consecutive contest, racked up 24 on 7-for-14 shooting from the field. The junior out of Montezuma, Ind., also took her career total to 1,328, which is tied with Christy Greis for the eighth-best mark in school history.
Dickey wasn't the only standout performer on the night either, as Kenyia Johnson and Sasha Robinson chipped in 12 apiece and did so in efficient fashion, knocking down 11 of 19 attempts.
However, 20 points from both Mikale Rogers and Danielle Lawrence provided ample firepower for IUPUI, which outscored the Aces 40-26 in the paint.
After taking a lead in the first quarter, the Aces would trail by double figures for much of the second half before an Erin Sinnott three-pointer would punctuate back-to-back Dickey buckets in the fourth, pulling the Aces within six at 52-46 with just under seven minutes remaining in the game.
A three-point play from Lawrence seemed to put the visitors from Indianapolis back in control, but it was only temporary as Dickey would answer with a three on the other end, and Robinson followed up with a pair of lay-ups to cut it to 55-53 with 4:13 left. However, Rogers ultimately ended the immediate threat with lay-ups off of back-to-back UE turnovers, and IUPUI began to pull away.
The difference in the game proved to be the second quarter. The Aces boasted of a 16-10 lead after the game's opening 10 minutes, but after stretching that advantage out to eight in the early goings of the second frame, the Jaguars responded, outscoring UE 22-9 to take a 32-25 lead into the half.
The Aces will return to action on Friday as the team will open up Missouri Valley Conference play at Northern Iowa at 7 p.m.
NOTES: UE is now 6-8 all-time against IUPUI … The Aces and Jaguars last met a year ago in a 62-50 IUPUI victory in Indianapolis … Sara Dickey has scored 10 or more points in all but two games this season … Dickey now stands just three points shy of No. 7 on UE's all-time list and seven points from No. 6 … Those spots are currently occupied by former Aces Samantha Heck and Jamie Gray, respectively … Tuesday marked the final game of a three-game homestand for the Aces at the Ford Center, and it will be the team's fourth home contest this season.
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