(EVANSVILLE RELEASE)
EVANSVILLE - After four-straight home contests, the University of Evansville women's basketball team travels for a road MVC series at Illinois State on Thursday and Friday in Normal, Ill.
Last Time Out: Bradley 77, Evansville 57
Returning to her high-scoring ways, sophomore Abby Feit recorded 20 points to lead the Aces on the evening, adding seven rebounds in an impressive effort.
Joining Feit in double-figures was sophomore Sydney Thurwalker with 10 points, contributing six rebounds for Evansville.
Finishing with a game-high 27 points, Bradley's Gabi Haack led all scorers and narrowly missed a triple-double with eight rebounds and six assists.
Bradley ran out to an early advantage, holding a 12-point lead at 23-11 following the opening 10 minutes.
Evansville flipped the script in the second quarter, out-scoring the Braves, 21-13, and closing within four points at the break.
A wild end to the opening half featured a three-pointer by Feit with four seconds remaining. On the ensuing inbound pass, freshman Rylie Stephens stole the pass and quickly hoisted a jumper that fell through as the horn sounded to narrow the Braves' advantage to just four at the break.
An 8-1 run for Bradley coming out of halftime is what ultimately proved to be the difference for the Braves as the lead grew to 11 before Bradley captured the 77-57 win.
Evansville's rebounding played a large part in its ability to keep within single digits for much of the middle portions of the contest as the Aces were narrowly out-rebounded by Bradley, 38-35.
Aiding the Aces effort was the fact that for the first time in conference play Evansville shot above 40% from the field, finishing 20-48 (41.7%) from the floor on the night, while limiting the Braves to just 37.7% (26-69) on the evening.
Previewing the Matchup: Illinois State
Evansville and Illinois State are meeting for the 56th time in series history with the Redbirds leading the all-time series, 36-19.
Illinois State has won six-straight games in the series, including a 75-46 win for the Redbirds in the last meeting, 68-51, on March 5, 2020 in Evansville.
Evansville is searching for its first win in the series since a 60-56 Aces win over the Redbirds on Feb. 26, 2017.
Doug Rogers will continue to serve as acting head coach as Aces head coach Matt Ruffing is not with the team due to family matters.
A win would give Evansville its first MVC victory since March 1, 2019 and would snap a current six-game losing streak for the Aces.
The Aces sot above 40% from the field (41.7%) on Saturday against Bradley, Evansville's first 40%+ shooting performance of conference play. In non-conference action, UE shot lower than 40% just once.
Evansville posted one of its best games on the boards on Saturday against the Braves, grabbing 35 rebounds, while Bradley tallied just 38. The -3 rebounding margin was the best of MVC play for the Aces.
Evansville has led for just 9 minutes and 29 seconds in five Missouri Valley Conference contests so far this season. In five non-conference games, Evansville led for 135 minutes and 53 seconds.
Limiting Fouls
Evansville is one of the best teams in the nation in limiting fouls.
The Aces sit 18th in the nation in fouls per game with 14 per contest, while Evansville's 15.9% foul rate is the seventh-best in the nation.
Thurwalker Making a Mark
Ever since seeing increased minutes against SIU on Jan. 2, sophomore Sydney Thurwalker has asserted herself as a rotational player for the Aces.
Over the last five games, Thurwalker is averaging 8.0 points, 6.2 boards, and 23.8 minutes per contest.
In the four previous games she appeared in, Thurwalker averaged just 1.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 11.3 minutes per game.
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