VALPARAISO, Ind. - Behind an efficient offense and a stifling defense, the University of Evansville women's basketball team earned a 57-45 road win in Missouri Valley Conference action on Thursday evening in Valparaiso, Ind.

"Any time you can get on the road and pick-up a road win is a big deal in this conference," said Aces head women's basketball coach Robyn Scherr-Wells. "I just thought we were solid from start to finish. It certainly would have been nice if a few more buckets had dropped, we might have been able to make things a little bit easier in that sense, but it felt like we had control basically the whole game and felt it was one of our most complete games we've played from start to finish in that aspect."

Bouncing back from an injury that limited her last weekend, senior guard/forward Abby Feit turned in a vintage performance, scoring 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting and grabbing nine boards to power the Aces. Fifth-year guard Myia Clark notched her third-straight game in double-figures with 11 points on the night, while redshirt junior Barbora Tomancova pulled-down 10 boards and added eight points. In all, seven Aces scored four-or-more points in the Evansville win. For the Beacons, Ali Saunders led the way, scoring a team-best 14 points off the bench.

A quick 7-2 spurt from Valpo to open the contest earned an early lead for the home side, but Evansville quickly responded. The first quarter was marked by consistent offense for both teams with the Aces answering nearly every Beacon basket through much of the quarter. Trailing 15-11 with exactly three minutes left in the opening period, Evansville went on a 7-2 run to grab the lead, an advantage the Aces would not relinquish.

Evansville continued its run to begin the second quarter, scoring the first four points of the frame on a pair of layups by Feit to grow its lead to five. The offenses of both sides struggled to get their footing in the second period with the Aces shooting 29% (4-14) and the Beacons hitting just one field-goal (1-for-8) as Evansville's lead sat at seven at 26-19 at the break.

It was another string of Aces points that lifted UE's lead in double-digits to open the second half as Evansville sprinted out of halftime with an 8-2 run. Buckets from A'Niah Griffin, Tomancova, Clark, and Feit allowed the Aces to take a 34-21 before the midway point of the third quarter. Valparaiso would get a pair of shots to fall in the final three minutes of the quarter to take the Beacons within nine going into the final 10 minutes of action.

Emphasized as a point of focus by head coach Robyn Scherr-Wells following last weekend's contests, Evansville demonstrated its ability to hold an opponent at bay in the fourth. The Beacons got as close as eight in the final frame, but could draw no closer as Evansville's efficient offense provided and answer for every Beacon bucket as the Aces earned the 57-45 win.

The Aces continue their northern road swing with a trip to take on UIC at 2 PM (CT) on Saturday afternoon in Chicago, Ill.
 

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