MOLINE, Ill. -- The University of Evansville women's basketball team begins the postseason on Thursday afternoon in the Quad Cities.
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The Aces get a new slate with the start of Hoops in the Heartland on Thursday afternoon. UE will play the Illinois State Redbirds on March 14 as the 12th seed. This is Evansville's first time as the 12th seed since the Missouri Valley expanded to 12 teams last season. The Aces have been the 10th seed on six occasions when the tournament expanded to 10 in 2006. UE has won a game as the
final seed at Hoops in the Heartland, a 61-59 overtime win over Illinois State in 2016.
The Redbirds finished the regular season with a 20-10 overall record and a 13-7 MVC record to earn the fifth seed at Hoops in the Heartland. Illinois State is led into the postseason by three players, graduate forward DeAnna Wilson, junior forward Kate Bullman, and senior guard Maya Wong. Wilson and Wong lead the team in points per game with both in double figures while Bullman leads the team in rebounds (8.0), blocks (2.1), and minutes played (30.7).Â
For the fourth time in Missouri Valley Conference play, Evansville outrebounded its opponent in the team's regular season finale against UNI. The Aces pulled down 39 rebounds to the Panthers 34. UE particularly shined under the offensive glass with 13 o-boards compared to UNI's eight. Evansville was led on defense by freshman Nevaeh Thomas with 12 rebounds. Thomas was the only Ace to score in double figures against the Panthers with 19 points for her 10th team-leading game.
In her return to action after a month away from the court, graduate center Barbora Tomancova recorded her 5th double-double of the season. Tomancova had 11 points and 10 rebounds in her return to the Aces while playing 23 minutes versus Drake. On Tuesday afternoon, Tomancova was named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team. Tomancova currently has a 4.0 cumulative GPA while pursuing her master's degree in health services administration.
