MURRAY, Ky. – The University of Evansville women's basketball team couldn't keep up with the Top Five offense of the Murray State Racers on Sunday afternoon.
The Purple Aces defense struggled to contain an explosive Murray State offense in the 104-66 loss. A pair of freshman guards kept UE battling through the game as Camryn Runner (Cicero, Ind. / Hamilton Heights HS) and Avery Kelley (Evansville, Ind. / Memorial HS) led Evansville's offense.
It was a cold start on the floor for the Aces as their first points came over three and a half minutes into the contest. Kelley gave UE's offense a jump midway through the quarter with two straight field goals. Murray State responded with a five-point run but guard Logan Leubbers Palmer (Union, Ky. / Randall K. Cooper HS) broke the stretch with a layup weaving through the paint. But an 11-1 run to end the quarter for the Racers had Evansville facing a 17-point deficit early.
The Aces went shot for shot with Murray State to begin the second as freshman guard Kaiden Kreinhagen (Indianapolis / North Central HS) got hot with five straight points. UE's freshmen then made three straight triples to force a Racer timeout. Out of the break, Kreinhagen went to the line for her sixth and seventh points of the quarter. Murray State answered with a six-point run that was broken up by sophomore forward Claudia Clement (Barcelona, Spain). But Clement's second chance jumper was Evansville's last field goal in the final two minutes of the half as they headed into the locker room down by 26.
The third quarter was the toughest from the field for the Aces as they shot only 30.8%. The Racers opened the half with seven straight points for an early UE timeout. Runner had her first of three triples out of the timeout in the second half. But Evansville wasn't able to put together a run in the third quarter as the Murray State lead grew to 49 points with less than a minute left. Kelley scored the last points of the third hitting a three-pointer from the right wing to make it an 83-37 game.
The Aces offense found its way in the final 10 minutes of the game scoring 29 of their 66 points. Runner exploded on offense with 12 points on 67% shooting starting with a layup just over a minute into the fourth. UE put together multiple short runs throughout the fourth with the best one coming midway through the quarter. Evansville scored seven straight points until the last minute and a half of the game. The Aces scored the final five points of the afternoon to make it a 104-66 final score.
Runner led UE at Murray with her second 20+ point performance in conference play while making four of five threes'. Kelley was the only other Evansville player in double figures scoring 17 against the Racers for her fifth straight double-digit performance. On defense freshman Elle Snyder (Latrobe, Penn. / Greater Latrobe HS) had a team-high five rebounds while Clement tied a season-high in blocked shots with three.
The Aces return home to Meeks Family Fieldhouse for their next two games. First UE will take on the UIC Flames in the program's annual Pride Night game on Thursday, January 30. Tip-off at Meeks against the Flames is set for 6 p.m.
