EVANSVILLE — With 21 seconds remaining, University of Evansville guard Camary Williams' primary concern was making things difficult for her Southern Illinois counterpart, and that's exactly what she did as the visiting Salukis were unable to get a shot off until there were just seconds on the clock. The attempt was off-target, and the Purple Aces picked up the win with a 63-60 decision at the Ford Center on Sunday afternoon.
"Coach Ruffing told me to put pressure on the ball, and that's what I tried to do." Williams explained. "With it being the last 20 seconds, I wanted to make it harder for her to pass to the shooters. Everyone had to lock up and stay tight, and that kept them from getting an open shot."
The win brought an end to a four-game UE skid as the Aces improved to 8-10 on the year and 3-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference. SIU, meanwhile, dropped to 8-10 and 2-5, respectively.
Williams, who entered the game with more steals this season than any other player in the NCAA, came away with just one takeaway in the game, but her defensive prowess overall set the tone for an impressive UE display.
"For our group as a whole, we were in the right spots defensively," UE head coach Matt Ruffing said. "We were communicating better, and that's key for our defense. We had Cam picking up the point guard, and she did a really nice job at disrupting their flow with her pressure. It's not something that everyone realizes, but that kind of stuff goes a long way in helping us win."
Williams finished the day with 18 points and a game-best 12 rebounds, giving her a second consecutive double-double. Sara Dickey led the way with 21 points on 8-for-16 shooting, and both Ashley Hawkins and Sasha Robinson were effective rebounders, pulling down eight apiece.
UE, which out-shot the visitors from Carbondale 44.4% to 30.9%, showed off its defensive abilities early, holding SIU to a 4-for-19 showing from the field in the opening quarter on the way to grabbing a 14-10 lead.
The Aces went on to score eight of the first 10 points in the second quarter to grab their first double-digit lead, but SIU previewed what was to come as Kylie Giebelhausen and Rishonda Napier each buried threes over the course of a 10-2 run to cut it to 24-22 at the break.
Giebelhausen finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Kim Nebo led the Salukis with 12 points.
Dickey and Giebelhausen traded threes to start the second half, and the Salukis would keep firing, going 3-for-7 in the period to cut the deficit to five points with just over a minute left. A pair of layups from Robinson and Dickey closed out the frame, giving UE a nine-point cushion heading to the fourth.
After a Williams layup opened the final stanza, SIU mounted an impressive surge, beginning with a Kristen Nelson three. Buckets from Napier and Carlie Corrigan were part of a 8-0 run to cut the deficit to three points.
The two sides continued to swap baskets for much of the fourth, but a Williams steal-and-score was followed up by back-to-back Williams and Dickey layups to make it 59-51 with 3:38 left. Corrigan, Napier and Olivia Bowling each hit threes down the stretch for SIU to cut it to 61-60 with 51 seconds left.
Kerri Gasper responded with a basket on the other end for her ninth and 10th points of the game, setting the stage for the dramatic final 21 seconds.
"You really have to take your hat off to Southern because they kept fighting," Ruffing said. "It was an exciting end to the game. They made some big shots, and we were able to come up with it at the end of the game. Both teams played hard, and I'm just so happy for our kids that we were able to walk away with the win."
UE will return to action next week with games against Illinois State and Bradley.
NOTES: The Aces led wire-to-wire in the contest … Sara Dickey, UE's all-time leading scorer, now has 1,926 career points, which is the 13th-best mark in MVC history … Sasha Robinson's career rebound total now stands at 739. She's six away from tying Samantha Heck (2009-13) for the fifth-best mark in UE history … UE is 27-28 all-time against SIU, including 14-12 in Evansville … UE is 92-104 all-time against schools from the state of Illinois and 2-2 against such institutions this season.
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