Box Score LOUISVILLE - Doomed by cold-shooting, the University of Evansville women's basketball team dropped a road matchup with Bellarmine, 60-40, on the road in Louisville, Ky. on Thursday evening.

Back in her hometown, fifth-year guard A'Niah Griffin led the way, scoring 10 points, adding three steals and a pair of assists. Also making her return near home, freshman guard Kynidi Mason Striverson added nine points off the bench. Redshirt junior Celine Dupont helped off the bench as well, finishing with six points, five rebounds, and a team-best three blocks. Bellarmine was led by a pair of double-figure scorers in Hayley Harrison (17 points) and Gracie Merkle (15 points and 11 boards).

A cold shooting start to open the game proved difficult for Evansville to overcome early on as the Aces trailed by as many as 10 in the opening quarter. A'Niah Griffin had much of Evansville's early offense, scoring five points in the first frame, including a late-quarter triple as UE trailed 19-9 after the first.

Evansville's defense improved in the second period, limiting the Knights to just 5-of-19 (26.3%) shooting in the second 10 minutes, but the Aces offense struggled to get jump started. A 29-19 advantage on the boards in the opening half, including nine offensive rebounds for Bellarmine, helped the Knights own a 30-15 lead at the break.

A quick 6-0 run for the Aces keyed by buckets from Tomancova, Newman, and Griffin to get UE back within nine less than two minutes into the third quarter. As was true for much of the night, Bellarmine had a response for the Aces, returning the favor with a 10-1 run to go in front 40-22. Evansville finally broke-out of its shooting slump in the fourth quarter, hitting seven of their 12 attempts in the final 10 minutes as Bellarmine captured the 60-40 win.

The Aces return to Meeks Family Fieldhouse to begin a season-long four-game homestand at 1 PM on Sunday, December 18 as Evansville plays host to SEMO.
 

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