EVANSVILLE – In the end, there wasn't enough time for another comeback as the University of Evansville women's basketball team fell victim to a late Cleveland State surge, dropping the season opener 66-62 on Saturday afternoon at the Ford Center.
"I liked our effort and energy," UE head coach Matt Ruffing said. "I think we've taken a step in the right direction in that respect, but we have to shoot better. I know we'll have better days shooting, and the nice thing is that we have the quick turnaround, and we can look forward to our next opponent. This is a good group of kids. I'm sure they'll be in the gym getting shots up prior to our game on Monday."
The game marked the first of three over the first six days of the season, and the team will look to get back on track on Monday as Eastern Illinois will pay a visit to the Ford Center at 5 p.m. The game will be the first basketball double-header of the season for UE. In the second contest, the men's team will open up its home slate against Alcorn State.
Ashanti Abshaw, a preseason All-Horizon League selection, got things going early for the visitors, draining a pair of threes and scoring eight points in the opening quarter to give the Vikings a 20-13 lead after the first 10 minutes.
UE started to get things going in the second period, thanks in part to the tandem of Sara Dickey and Brooke Dossett. After falling behind by seven at 31-24, Dickey hit her first three-pointer of the season and 200
th of her career to cut the deficit with 76 seconds left in the half. Following a Peyton Langston free throw, CSU's Chrishna Butler and Dossett traded threes before Macie Lively closed out the quarter with a lay-up with just seconds remaining to send the game into the break with the Aces trailing 34-33.
Dickey led the team with 17 points on the night, pulling her within 55 of the top spot in school history. Sinnott was second on the team with 13 points, and Brooke Dossett, a junior college transfer from nearby Vincennes, was the only other player in double digits, finishing with 12.
While Abshaw ended with 17 points and eight boards, it would be Khayla Livingston who led the way for the Vikings. The junior ended with 23 points, including 15 in the second half to go along with 11 boards.
The Vikings pulled back ahead with a 19-point third quarter, but a 10-0 run for the Aces to start the fourth put UE ahead early in the fourth. Sasha Robinson kicked it off with two of her nine points on the day, and Sinnott followed up with back-to-back threes before Dickey capped the run with a lay-up.
Livingston caught fire from there, scoring eight of the next 11 points in the contest to give CSU a 61-58 lead with under three minutes left. A pair of lay-ups from Abshaw in the last 90 seconds effectively iced the game for the visitors.
NOTES: With 1,658 career points, Sara Dickey is 55 away from tying Shelly Brand-Adlard for the top scoring mark in school history … Dickey is also the fourth-ever Ace to hit 200 three-pointers, joining Courtney Felke (205), Amy Lefever (204) and Shinko Ono (204) … Sasha Robinson's 10 rebounds on Saturday gave her 617 for her career, which ranks eighth in the school record books … The senior is 34 away from tying for sixth on the list with Rebekah Parker and Shannon Novosel.
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