Box Score EVANSVILLE - Honoring a pair of four-year seniors, the University of Evansville women's basketball team battled with a team just outside the top 100 in NET rankings, falling late, 60-56 to Loyola Chicago on Sunday afternoon inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.

Prior to the game, Evansville honored seniors NaTaya Partee and Anna Newman for their efforts and leadership for the program on Senior Day. The two have combined to appear in 163 games and play a combined total of 3,253 minutes.

The Aces top two scorers on the season lived up to the billing on Sunday with juniors Je'Naiya Davis and Abby Feit each finishing with 17 points to lead Evansville. Feit did most of her damage in the second half, pouring-in 13 of her 17 points in the final 20 minutes of action. Running the point, senior Anna Newman set a season-high with seven assists, doing so on an efficient offensive day in which the hometown native went 2-for-3 from the field and two-for-two at the chartiy stripe for seven points. Loyola was led by Allison Day, who finished with a team-best 15 points despite missing all but two minutes of the first half due to foul trouble.

The opening quarter unfolded much like it did Friday night with the two sides trading leads. A 7-2 Loyola lead quickly became an 11-11 tie before a three from Davis and a layup from junior Jossie Hudson gave the Aces a 16-15 advantage after the first.

Both sides struggled offensively in the second quarter, combining for just 19 points in the period. The two sides combined to go 8-of-28 from the field as Loyola built a six-point lead nearing the half. Evansville got an important bucket as time ran out in the half as Newman drove to the basket and laid it in to cut the deficit to four at 27-23 at the break.

Quickly attacking out of the halftime locker room, Evansville used an 11-5 run, capped-off by a jumper by A'Niah Griffin to push the Aces in front, 34-32 with 3:50 left in the period. After a pair of Rambler free-throws, the Aces again went on a run, this one a quick 5-0 spree that handed UE its largest lead to that point at 39-34 on free throws and a three-pointer by Davis. Minutes later, a three from Griffin pushed the lead to seven on a layup, but Loyola answered with a jumper inside the final 30 seconds of the quarter to get within 43-38. 

Loyola opened the fourth with a 7-2 run to tie the game at 45 and the following eight minutes were a back-and-forth affair. Loyola's Day and Evansville's Feit traded baskets throughout the period with an important layup from Feit coming with just 1:54 left in the game to tie the contest, 54-54. On the ensuing possession, Bre Hampton-Bay got to the rim and put the Ramblers back in front and Evansville missed a layup. With the game on the line, Evansville forced a missed three-pointer, but the miss was rebounded by Loyola's Julia Hoefling and out to Sam Galanopoulos, who was fouled and hit both freebies. On the other end, Newman drew a shooting foul and hit both shots to get the Aces within a possession at 58-56 with 13 seconds remaining. After Galanopoulos split a pair with just over 10 seconds left, Evansville had a chance to tie, but a good look out of a designed play, just missed and Loyola hit the free-throws that would follow to secure the 60-56 win.

Evansville goes back on the road next weekend, beginning with a Thursday tip-off against Missouri State before traveling to take on Southern Illinois on Saturday.

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