EVANSVILLE - Battling back from an 18-point deficit, the University of Evansville women's basketball team captured a come-from-behind win over Indiana State, 58-56, on Saturday night inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse in Evansville.

Three Aces finished in double-figures to power Evansville in the comeback victory, led by senior Myia Clark (20 points) and junior Je'Naiya Davis (19 points) who combined for 39 of the team's 58 points in the win. Senior Anna Newman reached double-digits for the sixth time this season, recording 10 points, with the bulk of the points coming at the charity stripe where Newman was 8-for-8 on the night. Del'Janae Williams led Indiana State with 15 points, while two other Sycamores recorded double-figure boards, as Tonysha Curry (13 boards) and Arianna Smith (11 boards) each eclipsed the 10-rebound plateau.

Despite trailing 50-32 with 43 seconds left in the third quarter, Evansville put together one of its best final quarters in recent memory. Doing so in chunks, Evansville out-scored the Sycamores 24-6 in the fourth, including a 16-2 run that pushed the Aces within two with three-and-a-half minutes remaining in the contest. After a pair of free throws pushed the Sycamores lead to two possessions, a quick 7-0 run in response from the Aces put UE in front for the first time since the first quarter. The run was keyed by a triple by Davis that got UE within one, followed by two free throws from Newman and a layup from Clark that forced an Indiana State timeout. 

On the other end, Williams got to the rim, hitting the shot and drawing a foul, but missed the subsequent free-throw that would tie the game. On the miss, Indiana State tipped the rebound out and secured the ball. After another Sycamore shot was missed and the offensive rebound was grabbed with eight seconds left, Indiana State took a timeout. Out of the timeout, Newman's defense was on display, tying the ball up and earning a jump ball with the possession arrow in the Aces favor. Forced to commit a foul, Indiana State fouled Clark who went to the line and split a pair with 2.1 seconds remaining. The Sycamores advanced the ball with their final timeout and on the in-bounds, got the ball into the paint. As Arianna Smith went up for the close-range shot, her shot was altered by junior Jossie Hudson as the ball sailed up over the rim and over harmless as Evansville captured the 58-56 win. After shooting 55.6% (10-18) in the third quarter en route to a 24-10 scoring advantage in the period, Indiana State was limited to just 2-14 (14.3%) shooting in the final 10 minutes. Evansville on the other hand shot 35.3% (6-17) from the field in the fourth and excelled in one of its team strengths, getting to the basket and drawing fouls, to the tune of 13 attempts in the final period, of whiche UE converted 11.

Both sides had their struggles on the evening. The Aces did what they do best and forced 22 Sycamore turnovers, including eight in the opening quarter. Indiana State took advantage of one of its strengths, out-rebounding the Aces, 50-32, including a 19-8 edge on the offensive glass.The Sycamores would turn those offensive rebounds into 19 second-chance points, while UE converted the Indiana State turnovers into 18 points.

The win moves Evansville into sole possession of ninth in the Conference standings and just two games back of Drake in eighth. The Aces get six days away from competition before returning to Meeks Family Fieldhouse on Friday, February 18 to take on Valparaiso at 6 PM before closing the three-game homestand on Sunday, February 20 against Loyola at 1 PM for Senior Day.
 

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