EVANSVILLE – It was a battle once again for the University of Evansville women's basketball team on Saturday afternoon, but unfortunately for the Purple Aces, it was Northern Iowa that would pull away in the second half as the team fell 61-48 to the Panthers in the regular season finale at the Ford Center.
"The last key when we went through pregame was to have fun and send Laura out the right way," UE interim head coach Matt Ruffing said. "It may not have shown on the scoreboard, but we competed and fought hard. There were moments in the game where the crowd got into it, and maybe an extra shot falls and the momentum swings our way."
The Aces (2-27, 1-17 Missouri Valley) were led on the day by the duo of Sasha Robinson and Sara Dickey, who combined for 23 points in the contest. Robinson, who posted a career high in the previous meeting between the two teams, came out impressively Saturday, scoring 10 points in the first quarter as the Aces grabbed a 12-8 lead after the opening 10 minutes. She would finish with 12 points overall as well as a team-best eight rebounds. Dickey added 11.
Dickey now stands just 13 points shy of the second spot on UE's all-time scoring list. She has 1,613 for her career.
Meanwhile, UNI (20-9, 15-3 MVC) saw three players score in double figures, led by a 20-point outburst from Madison Weekly. Jen Keitel added another 12, and Amber Sorenson posted a double-double, ending with 11 points and 11 boards.
Following Saturday's contest, UE paid tribute to its lone senior, Laura Friday. The Marion native would play a team-best 37-minutes in the game and hand out a game-best five assists.
The Aces locked up the 10-seed for next week's MVC tourney, and UNI secured an outright regular season conference championship as well as the No. 1 overall seed with the win.
NOTES: UE is 19-29 all-time against Northern Iowa and 11-11 in contests that are staged in Evansville … Shyla McKibbon-Puelston is the next target on the all-time scoring list for Sara Dickey. McKibbon-Puelston entered the UE Athletics Hall of Fame earlier this year, and she finished her Aces career with 1,626 career points … With 593 career rebounds, Sasha Robinson ranks ninth all-time in the UE history books … She is 12 away from moving up to eighth.
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