EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Battling back from a late deficit, the University of Evansville women's basketball showed resilience in a 62-52 season-opening win over Austin Peay on Tuesday night inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse in Evansville.

"That was just a really gritty win. We had a rough stretch, a really rough third quarter, and to see our kids fight back and not fold and not lose their confidence, I'm just so proud of them," said Aces head women's basketball coach Robyn Scherr-Wells. "They worked hard to be at this point and it was great to see them get the win in the first game."

A roster split equally between new faces and returners saw both make significant impacts. The team's leading scorer over the past two seasons, junior Abby Feit again topped the scoring for the Aces, finishing with her 12th double-double, recording 21 points and 11 boards. Two other Aces finished with double-figures, both making their debuts in white and purple, as senior Myia Clark poured-in 15 points and freshman Elly Morgan tallied 11 points. Morgan and Clark both made a significant impact on the defensive end with their consistent pressure, combining for six steals. For the Governors, newcomers Yamia Johnson and Karle Pace both led the way with 14 points on the night.

"We had great energy the entire game. We got down a little but we bounced back really well and I think that's a big improvement from last year," said Feit after the win. "Like I said, we kept the energy high the entire game and the intensity and we were pressing, turning them over, and we got great shots on offense, so it was overall a well-rounded game."

After going 243 days between games, Evansville looked in mid-season shape to start the game, jumping out to an 11-point lead in the opening stanza. Feit and Clark were the primary catalysts in the Aces early momentum, combining for 13 of the Aces first 21 points. After four-straight Governor points to close the quarter, Morgan knocked-down a triple to return Evansville to a double-digit advantage at 24-14.

In the second quarter, Evansville's lead ballooned to 14 on three by Clark with 3:44 left in the half, but Austin Peay had a burst in them to close out the opening half. Over the final 3:44, the Governors put together an 8-0 run to cut the Aces lead to just four at 35-29 at the break.

The Governors run to close the opening half spilled over into the third quarter as Austin Peay got within one less than two minutes into the second half. With 3:39 remaining in the third, a three from Nina De Leon Negron handed Austin Peay its first lead of the game at 41-39. Shooting just 20% (3-15) in the third period, Evansville struggled to keep pace with the Governors as the Aces were out-scored 17-6 in the quarter with Austin Peay grabbing a 46-41 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.

Austin Peay pushed its lead to seven at 50-43 just minutes into the fourth as had been limited to just eight points in the first 12 minutes of the second half. After a layup from Feit cut the deficit to five, a massive shift in momentum occurred with just over six minutes remaining. Driving to the lane, Clark was fouled and flung the ball towards the rim, hitting the shot and earning a trip to the line, brining Evansville within a possession. As Evansville's defense turned-up the heat, its offense got going as well. Trailing by three, the Aces got a pair of threes from the left side that flipped the script and handed UE the three-point advantage. A stifling defensive effort over the final eight minutes limited the Governors to just two points in that span, while Evansville scored 19 as the Aces pulled away for the win.

Evansville's rim protection was key to the win as the Aces recorded nine blocks on the night, the most by Evansville since recording nine against Bradley on March 8, 2018.

The Aces continue their season-opening homestand on Sunday at 1 PM inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse with matchup with Oakland City in Evansville.
 

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