EVANSVILLE – Moments away from what would have been one of the more memorable comebacks in school history, the University of Evansville fell victim to a pair of late free throws as the Purple Aces' dropped a 76-74 decision to visiting Southeast Missouri at the Ford Center on Sunday afternoon.
With the loss, the Aces fell to 0-4 on the season while SEMO improved to 2-3.
The Redhawks were hot from the start of the first quarter, and the Aces couldn't keep up over the opening 20 minutes. SEMO buried 10 three-pointers in the first half and shot just under 50% as the team went into the break with a sizable 49-28 advantage.
However, that would all change in the third quarter. The Aces ran off 13 of the first 14 points of the half to cut the deficit down to single digits, and the team would continue to chip away in the period, out-scoring the visitors by a 29-11 margin. A pair of Sasha Robinson free throws closed out the frame with UE trailing by just three at 60-57.
Sara Dickey, who eclipsed the 1,700-point milestone in the contest, got things started in the fourth, sinking a pair of free throws before burying a shot from distance with just over six minutes left to put UE ahead for the first time since the opening minute of play.
Dickey ended the day with 19 points, giving her 1,706 for her career and pulling her within seven of Shelly Brand-Adlard's school record mark of 1,713. Dickey, who has hit 204 career three-pointers, is now just one away from the school record, which is currently held by Courtney Felke.
The Aces would continue to lead as the quarter wore on, thanks in large part to buckets from Brooke Dossett and Camary Williams, who finished with 17 and 21 points, respectively, before a Bri Mitchell layup off an offensive rebound tied things up with just 19 seconds left.
Williams narrowly missed a triple-double in the contest, finishing with 11 rebounds and eight steals to go along with a trio of assists. Dossett enjoyed her best outing as an Ace, shooting 7-for-11 from the field and ending with four assists.
Following a miss by Dickey, Robinson was charged with a loose ball foul, sending SEMO's Ashton Luttrull to the line, where she'd convert one of her two attempts to take a 75-74 lead. Following a five-second call, Mitchell hit another from the charity stripe to account for the final score.
Mitchell ended with nine points on the day, and the Redhawks were led by Olivia Hackmann, who sank four threes to finish with 20 points.
UE will return to action next weekend with a trip to Northwestern.
NOTES: With 647 career rebounds, Sasha Robinson is six away from moving into a tie with Rebekah Parker and Shannon Novosel for sixth in the school record books … UE is 3-4 all-time against SEMO, Sunday marked the first meeting since the Aces overcame a 19-point deficit to win in the 2008 WNIT … UE is 38-50 all-time against Missouri schools.
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