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ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The 7^th seeded University of Evansville women's basketball team (12-18) utilized a 27 point, 14 rebound performance from forward Mallory Ladd to fuel a 55-51 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament win over the Illinois State Redbirds on Thursday night. The victory is the first MVC Tournament win for the Purple Aces since 2009.
 
Ladd was 8-for-15 shooting in the game, going 5-for-7 beyond the arc and a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line. The Evansville native set a new career high with five made three pointers in the game and achieved her 20^th career double-double at UE.
 
Evansville has now advanced to the MVC Tournament Quarterfinals and will play the 2^nd seeded Drake Bulldogs on Friday, March 13.
 
Evansville trailed 4-3 early in the game until the Purple Aces scored six consecutive points for a 10-4 edge at the 14:26 mark of the first half. Ladd tallied 10 of the first 12 points for UE in the game, including two treys early on. Illinois State rallied back to within two points, 16-14, but Evansville extended the lead back up to eight before halftime. Ladd ended the opening stanza with six more points for the Purple Aces.
 
Evansville was in front 25-19 at the half. Ladd posted a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds in the opening stanza. Five Purple Aces scored in the first half.
 
Illinois State surged back in the second half, evening up the score at 30. Guard Sara Dickey scored the first five points of the half for UE after totaling just two in the opening stanza.
 
Down 35-34 with 8:00 left in regulation, UE put together a 10-0 run to pull away from Illinois State. Ladd scored her first points of the half on a three to begin the run as she and Dickey totaled nine of the points in the stretch.
 
The Redbirds lowered the deficit to three points, 44-41, with just 3:04 to play but UE made eight of nine free throws the rest of the way to secure the victory. Evansville tied a season-high with 21 made free throws in 24 attempts.
 
Dickey scored 15 points in the game including 13 in the second half. With 573 points this year, the sophomore is just two points shy of setting the UE single season scoring record (Shyla Puelston – 574 points in 1998-'99).
 
The UE defense forced 20 turnovers in the game, scoring 19 points off turnovers. Evansville committed just 10 turnovers in the contest leading to no Redbird points.
 
The MVC quarterfinals game against Drake will also be held at The Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. and begin at 6:07 p.m. CDT. UE is looking to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2009 when the Aces won the MVC Tournament as a #9 seed.