Aces looking to close out Ford Center slate in style

2/23/2017 5:30:00 PM

EVANSVILLE – The University of Evansville women's basketball team will be looking to make the most of its final weekend at the Ford Center on Friday and Sunday as the Purple Aces are set to play host to Bradley and Illinois State.

The Aces (9-16, 4-10 Missouri Valley Conference) will begin play on Friday with a showdown against Bradley. The contest, which will serve as the team's annual Play for Kay breast cancer awareness game, is slated for a 7 p.m. start. Sunday's game against Illinois State will see the Aces celebrate Senior Day, and with plans for the team to move to the Carson Center next season, it could mark the final game for the Aces women's team at the Ford Center. Tipoff in that contest is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Led by reigning Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week Sara Dickey, the Aces will be hoping to keep things rolling after last Friday's 74-61 victory at Southern Illinois. UE, which currently sits eighth in the Valley standings is just two games off the pace for a first-round bye in the tournament. Indiana State and Southern Illinois both own a 6-8 mark in league play, and with a season sweep of the Salukis already accomplished and a game in hand against Indiana State next week, the Aces control their own destiny in terms of securing tiebreakers.

Bradley, is 6-9 in league play with a 10-16 mark overall. Illinois State trails UE by just half-game at 4-11 and 7-19, respectively.

The Braves enter the weekend looking to get back on track after dropping three of their past four games. Earlier this season, BU's Leti Lerma put the team on her shoulders in a 56-52 victory over Evansville in Peoria. In a game that saw the Braves out-rebound UE 56-30, Lerma ended with 24 points and 17 boards.

Meanwhile, Illinois State rode a big fourth quarter on the way to a 71-58 decision over the Aces. Brechelle Beachum and Taylor Stewart each topped 20 points in the contest, with the former scoring 12 of those points over the course of the decisive final quarter.

Dickey, who became just the eighth MVC 2,000-point scorer in that win over SIU, is coming off one of her best career performances. The senior out of Montezuma, Ind., finished with 28 points, including seven made three-pointers, to help the Aces to a wire-to-wire win at SIU Arena. Meanwhile, Camary Williams chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds, and Sasha Robinson pulled down 11 boards to continue her quest for a top three mark in UE rebounding history.

Williams and Dickey are tied for the fifth-best scoring mark in the Valley at 14.6 points per game. Williams also ranks among the leaders with 8.1 rebounds per game as well as 4.08 steals, which stands as the second-best mark in the nation. With six steals this weekend, the Ft. Myers, Fla., native would tie Latasha Austin for the top single-season steals total (108) in the UE history books.

Dickey, Williams and Robinson will be joined by Ashley Hawkins, whose been a valuable reserve all season for the Aces, for Sunday's Senior Day festivities.

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