EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville women's basketball team hosted local EVPL students at the Ford Center in an 84-40 loss to the Belmont Bruins.
The Purple Aces had a ruckus crowd of over 1,000 elementary and middle school children for their Education Day game as they hosted the Bruins in the Ford Center. Guard Kynidi Mason Striverson led UE on offense with 11 points, two assists, and two steals. In her return to the court after two months away due to injury, freshman forward Nevaeh Thomas put up 10 points and a steal in only 11 minutes of action.
"I'm so grateful for our community coming out today," said Head Coach Robyn Scherr-Wells following the game. "It's my favorite game of the year because it's awesome for our players to have a chance to play in front of these kids and the community. I certainly wished we had played better and given a much better performance than what happened out there. It's still special to see those kids out there.
"As we subbed lineups, we weren't able to maintain intensity. We can't play our starting five for some 40 minutes. And I felt like we had more breakdowns as we subbed and didn't communicate as well. We didn't stay locked into the game plan. We got way too low on some of their actions and gave up threes. Belmont really capitalized on our breakdowns which just widened that gap too far."
It was a slow start on Friday morning for Evansville as it took until the third and a half minute for a made basket. Thomas opened scoring for the Aces with a second chance layup inspiring a quick back-and-forth rhythm. A fast four-point stretch for the Bruins had UE down by seven. But Evansville responded with a six-point run of its own to get back within one. The first ended with back-to-back baskets for Belmont as the Aces trailed by five.
UE struggled offensively in the second quarter, only putting up nine points in 10 minutes of action. Evansville had its first made basket in the third minute as forward Maggie Hartwig made one of the team's four threes. The Bruins continued to make brief runs through the quarter that the Aces would break up every few minutes. UE didn't score for the final three minutes of the first half, heading into the third quarter down by 22 points.
Evansville's offense struggled to rebound in the second half, as the first basket of the half came on free throws with 6:36 on the clock. It was a long scoreless stretch for both teams midway through the third as Mason Striverson put up a three-point play to give the Aces a little life. Center Barbora Tomancova made a layup shortly after. But a nine-point run from Belmont made it a 37-point deficit. With 10 minutes to play, UE trailed by 34 after a layup for guard Alana Striverson and free throws for Mason Striverson.
An early five points were about all for Evansville in the fourth quarter against the Bruins. Striverson added her lone three of the day while Thomas had a fast break layup in the first two minutes. The Aces final basket of the game came from Thomas as well on a turnover with 6:32 on the clock. UE was scoreless for the final six and a half minutes, falling to Belmont 84-80.
The Aces return to Meeks Family Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon against another opponent unbeaten in Valley play. Evansville welcomes Murray State to town for a 1 p.m. tip-off on Sunday Jan. 14.
