Clark and Feit help Aces battle back to earn 10th win of the season

TERRE HAUTE, Ind.- Fueled by their two top scorers, the University of Evansville women’s basketball team fought their way from an early deficit to a 68-66 win over Indiana State on Wednesday night in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Fifth-year guard Myia Clark hit the 20-point mark for the fourth time this season and had a game-high 21 points that night while dishing out five assists and catching four rebounds. Feit hit her fifth double-double of the year and finished with 18 points and 10 boards, notching three triples in Aces victory. Rounding out Evansville’s double-digit scorers, A’Niah Griffin scored 10 points in her fifth year and scored most of her score in the charity race, where she hit a perfect 8-on-8 that night. The Sycamores were led by guard Bella Finnegan, who scored 17 points to speed up the home team.

Although Evansville led by three points in the early minutes and was tied 7-7 even after 3:30, Evansville quickly found themselves in a hole to start the game. The Sycamores took control early in the game with an 11-0 run to take an 18-7 lead. Indiana State’s lead would grow to 14 at 24-10 at quarterbreak as the Sycamores held Evansville to just three points at the final 6:30 of the first period.

Like last Sunday after a slow start, Evansville reacted in the second quarter, working their way back within a workable margin. Straight out of goal in the second frame, the Aces scored 10 straight points to reduce the deficit to just four with over seven minutes remaining at halftime. A streak of seven straight aces points from Clark helped Evansville level the game by 30 as the period wore off before Indiana State hit a late shot to lead by two points, 32-30 at the break .

Early in the second half, Indiana State extended a four-point lead on three separate occasions, but Evansville seemed to have an answer every time. The turning point of the game came midway through the third quarter as the Aces built an 11-4 run to not only take the lead, but extend it to the highest point of the evening at 50-43 after a layup by Redshirt Junior at center Barbora Tomancova.

After a running game in the first 30 minutes, the fourth quarter was just as wild. With a seven-point lead at one point in the fourth, the Aces saw Indiana State roar back to take the lead just halfway into the final quarter. A key jumper from Tomancova, following the Sycamores’ run, helped regain UE’s lead for good, but the win required resilience all the way from the aces. With two minutes left, a Feit layup gave Evansville a five-point lead, but Indiana State responded with a three-pointer to get back to a pair. As it looked like Evansville secured the win 67-63 after two free throws from graduate guard Anna Newman with 21 seconds left, the Sycamores came down the floor and hit three more, with time running out to come within one . Feit was fouled and sent down the line with just 0.8 seconds to go, splitting a pair to give the Aces a two-point lead. Indiana State put the ball forward with a timeout and had one last chance, but Evansville defended the inbounds well and forced a deep three that rattled off the side of the rim as the Aces secured the 68-66 away win.

The win marks Evansville’s 10th win of the season and secures the Aces their 25th season in program history with double-digit wins.

Evansville will be back on the road at 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon in Des Moines, Iowa to take on Drake.

 

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