EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville women's basketball team didn't let a tough first quarter stop them from beating the Southeast Missouri Redhawks 70-55.

A trio of Aces in double-digits and 38 chances at the free-throw line helped power UE to a 15-point win over SEMO. MVC Freshman of the Week Camryn Runner (Cicero, Ind. / Hamilton Heights HS) led Evansville with a career-high 20 points. Sophomore forward Maggie Hartwig (Sauk City, Wis. / Sauk Prairie HS) also had a 20 on her stat line, only on the opposite side of the ball with a career-high of 20 rebounds.

"We're excited to come out with another home win!" said Head Coach Robyn Scherr after the victory. "You win two in a row for our homestand to start the season is something we're very very pleased with. There's always room to grow. But I'm excited our kids were able to maintain a lead pretty much throughout the game."

The Aces had a fast start on Wednesday with five straight points in under two minutes. But the first run was only one of two for UE in the first 10 minutes of play. The Redhawks swung momentum in their favor at the seven-minute mark with a six-point run to take the lead with under four to go in the quarter. Two free throws from Hartwig at 2:44 tied the game up as the teams swapped the lead three more times before the end of the quarter. Evansville was down by only a point following the first quarter.

The Aces took the lead right back in the second quarter as freshman guard Kaiden Kreinhagen (Indianapolis / North Centra HS) hit a wide-open three in the corner. Neither team was able to score for almost three minutes as a UE foul gave SEMO two free throws to tie the game. But Evansville quickly grew their lead with a seven-point run that was capped off by another Kreinhagen three. The Aces lead ballooned to 11 with under a minute in the half thanks to six quick points. The Redhawks did make the last basket of the quarter to put UE's lead at nine heading into halftime.

After holding SEMO to only six points in the second quarter, Evansville took advantage of the offensive momentum to start the second half. The Aces made back-to-back threes in under a minute while adding on two free throws only 30 seconds later. Another trey for UE from Hartwig put the Evansville lead at 16 less than three minutes into the quarter. The Redhawks called an early timeout to stop the bleeding but wouldn't see the Aces' lead go down to single digits for the rest of the quarter.

SEMO strung together a six-point run but UE answered with two trips to the line to snap the momentum. With two more trips to the line, Evansville had a 15-point lead with 1:40 left in the third quarter. The Redhawks had the last five points to make it a 10-point lead for the Aces going into the final frame of the game.

It was a back-and-forth start to the fourth quarter as UE saw their lead slip into single digits. Evansville was able to respond with five straight points to bring its lead back up to 13. SEMO continued to try and cut into the Aces' lead throughout the quarter. But UE continued to draw fouls to keep its double-digit lead intact to the final buzzer, winning 70-55.

Evansville ended the game going over 80% from the free throw line making 31 of 38 attempts. The Aces were also strong under the glass with their third straight 40+ rebound game with 47 boards. UE also outscored the Redhawks on fast breaks with 17 points and 11 points from their bench.

Runner led the team on offense with her first 20-point performance. Hartwig and guard Kylee Norkus (Naperville, Ill. / Neuqua Valley HS) also had double-figure performances with 17 and 12 points each. Runner also led the team in assists with four while senior guard Júlia Palomo (La Seu d'Urgell, Spain) led the team in steals with three.

Evansville hits the road for the rest of November starting with a trip to St. Charles, Mo. The Aces will face Lindenwood on Monday, November 18^th. Tip-off from Robert F. Hyland Arena is set for 6 p.m.