CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - One win down, a road test awaits the Aces' women's basketball team on Sunday afternoon inside the Show Me Center.
Evansville and SEMO each look to start the season 2-0 in the endcap of the weekend. SEMO opened the season with a 70-56 win over NCAA Division II Missouri-St. Louis on Tuesday, while the Aces secured a 77-61 victory over Brescia to open the year. Each game featured a standout performance; one to be expected and one that was expected, but by a newcomer. The Redhawks were led by redshirt senior Carrie Shephard with 26 points, following a season in 2018-19 that saw Shephard finish second on the team in scoring with 9.6 points per game. On the Aces' side, the 26 points were scored by talented freshman Abby Feit, who also recorded 18 rebounds, the most since at least 2014, by the way.
Feit's scoring outburst was previewed to Aces' fans in Evansville's lone exhibition, a 102-41 trouncing of Oakland City. On that night, Feit scored 32 points, while stuffing the stat sheet with seven rebounds, seven steals, and three blocks. But the 26 points in a real game were incredibly impressive. Feit's scoring performance against Brescia was the best freshman debut in program history and bested freshman debuts by the likes of Jackie Styles, Kelsey Plum, Breanna Stewart, Elenna Della Donne, Sylvia Fowles, and Neka Ogwumike. Oh yeah, by the way, those six names represent the greatest player in Missouri Valley Conference history, the NCAA's all-time leading scorer, and the last five WNBA Most Valuable Player award winners.
Along with adding an all-around threat in Feit, the Aces appear to be a much deeper team. Last season, Evansville primarily worked with a seven player rotation. In the opener against Brescia, 11 Aces saw the court with eight playing more than 10 minutes.
More may be told from Sunday's matchup with SEMO on the road, especially after an offensive struggle a season ago in which the Redhawks earned a 54-50 win inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse. SEMO was a stingy defensive team last season, allowing 65.4 points per contest to its opponents.
The proof will be in the performance on Sunday as a young Aces squad looks to open the season with a pair of victories.
