EVANSVILLE - Looking to continue its momentum from back-to-back impressive performances, the University of Evansville women's basketball team travels for a two-game road trip featuring contests against Purdue Fort Wayne and Illinois.
 

Evansville at Purdue Fort Wayne | 6 PM (CT)
Date | Time	Fri. Dec. 13 | 6 PM (CT)
Location	Fort Wayne, Ind.
Site	Gates Sports Center
Fri. Dec. 13	Evansville at Purdue Fort Wayne
Follow Along	Live Stats | YouTube
Evansville	Women's Basketball Site | Twitter | Game Notes

 

Evansville at Illinois | 2 PM
Date | Time	Sun. Dec. 16 | 2 PM
Location	Champaign, Ill.
Site	State Farm Center
Sun. Dec. 16	Evansville at Illinois
Follow Along	Live Stats | BTN+
Evansville	Women's Basketball Site | Twitter | Game Notes

Last Game: Murray State 61, Evansville 59

• Redshirt junior Jada Poland led Evansville in the scoring column for the third-straight game, scoring 16 points in just 25 minutes.
• Freshman Abby Feit finished with 14 points, recording her seventh-straight double-figure scoring performance.
• Also finishing in double-digits for Evansville was sophomore A'Niah Griffin with 10 points.
• On the defensive end, sophomore Makayla Wallace set a new career-high wit seven steals. 
• Leading the Racers was Macey Turley with 19 points to go along with six rebounds, six assists, and six steals.
• It was Murray State who commanded the contest in the first quarter as the Racers raced out to a 22-8 lead with two minutes left in the first period.
• The final two minutes of the first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter were a crucial stretch for Evansville and their competitiveness in the contest as the Aces went on a 17-5 run to cut within two at 27-25 with 5:37 left until halftime.
• The final five minutes of the opening half featured little offense as Murray State took a four-point advantage at 32-28 to the break.
• Murray State's lead grew back to seven coming out of the half, but it would not stay that way for long.
• As was true for much of the evening, Evansville countered every punch that the Racers threw, trailing by just three with 10 minutes left in regulation.
• The lead would again grow for the Racers in the fourth quarter as Murray State held a 52-46 advantage with 8:46 remaining to play.
• Three quick points by Poland trimmed Evansville's deficit to three and an ensuing layup by sophomore Anna Newman brought UE within one with nearly eight minutes left.
• Down one with under five minutes remaining, Poland was fouled and went to the line, promptly knocking-down a pair of free throws to give the Aces their first lead of the night at 55-54.
• The two sides traded the lead over the final four minutes until Evansville grew its lead to two on a jumper by Poland with 43 seconds remaining.
• Murray State would tie the game just 12 seconds later, giving Evansville a chance to go ahead with little time remaining.
• The Aces held the ball for a shot late in the shot clock and in the midst of running their set, the ball was jarred loose.
• Murray State recovered the ball and pushed it in transition as Turley scored a layup, two-on-one, with 0.9 seconds remaining.
• The Aces inbounded the ball, but could not find the net from three-quarters court in a 61-59 loss.
• Evansville entered the game shooting 71% from the free-throw line and hit just 16-of-28 attempts from the stripe, while Murray State, a team that was shooting 65% from the free-throw line, hit 17-of-18 opportunities on the night.

Previewing the Matchup (Purdue Fort Wayne)

• Evansville and Purdue Fort Wayne are recent foes, having played just three previous times before their fourth meeting on Friday.
•  The Mastodons hold a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series.
• The Aces and Mastadons last met on Nov. 20, 2018 when Purdue Fort Wayne captured a 72-66 win inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse. 
• The two sides have met just once in Fort Wayne as the 'dons defeated Evansville, 77-59, on Nov. 21, 2014.
• In last season's matchup, the guard duo of Anna Newman and Makayla Wallace combined for 17 points for the Aces.
• Redshirt junior Jada Poland has been an impressive force for Evansville over the last three contests as Poland has led the team in each of the last three contests, pouring in a combined 58 points.
• Freshman Abby Feit looks to continue her streak of double-figure scoring performances, currently sitting at seven-straight 10+ point outings, having scored double-digits in every collegiate game of her career.
• Evansville has defended the rim well this year as the Aces sit in 54th nationally in blocks per game with 4.4 per contest. Of the 31 blocks this year, Abby Feit and Jada Poland lead the way, combining for 21 blocks.
• The Aces have controlled four jump balls this season in seven games as freshman Abby Feit has taken on the job for UE. This matches Evansville's total from all 30 games last season, as the Aces only grabbed four jump balls.
• Purdue Fort Wayne enters Friday's game with a 3-8 overall record and is currently in the midst of a four-game losing streak.

Previewing the Matchup (Illinois)

• Evansville and Illinois are meeting for just the second time in the series with the Illini winning the lone previous meeting between the two sides.
• The last, and only, game in the series occurred on Nov. 11, 2012 as Illinois captured an 84-52 win in Champaign, Ill.
• The Aces have lost their last 22 meetings against Power 5 opponents, last defeating a P5 opponent in a 70-66 home win over Kentucky on Dec. 4, 2002.
• The Missouri Valley Conference has seen success against P5 opponents so far this season as the Valley holds a 7-9 record in matchups against Power 5 teams.
• An MVC team has dealt the Illini a loss this season in Illinois State's 74-58 win over Illinois at State Farm Arena on Nov. 16, 2019.
• Illinois enters Sunday's matchup with a 7-2 record, including a win over Merrimack in its last contest on Tuesday.

 

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