After rallying from 16 points down with 16 minutes to play in the Preseason WNIT against Marshall back in November, the Purple Aces used 57.1 percent shooting in the second half to rally from a 19-point second half deficit to knock off the regular-season Ohio Valley Conference champion Redhawks and advance on to a Monday match-up with Big XII foe Kansas in the second round of the 2008 Postseason WNIT.

 

Evansville shot just 23.1 percent from the floor in the first half (6-for-26), as the Redhawks stormed to a 36-19 halftime lead thanks to 10 points from forward Rachel Blunt. The lead would quickly grow to 19 points, 39-20, with 17:28 to play on a free throw by Lauren Sharpe, before UE would finally answer back.

 

Junior guard Ashley Austin connected on a three-pointer eight seconds later in transition to ignite the Evansville offense.  A jumper by junior forward Robyn Jennings and a three-pointer by senior guard Courtney Felke on back-to-back possessions quickly trimmed the SEMO lead back to 11 points, 39-28, with 16:10 to play.

 

After a defensive next four minutes of play, sophomore reserve forward Jillian Palan ignited the Purple Aces and the 1,717 in attendance at the PAC Arena with a spinning old-fashioned three-point play to get UE within seven points, 41-34, with 12:12 to play. Evansville would quickly use a 10-1 run over the next 2:41 to take its first lead of the second half, 44-42, on a jumper by Jennings with 9:31 to play.

 

The Redhawks would rally to tie the score twice down the stretch, with the last coming with 5:32 to play on a free throw by Crysta Glenn, but UE would work its way to the line, hitting eight of 10 free throws over the next four minutes to grab a 59-56 lead with 1:08 to play.

 

Southeast Missouri State had a pair of opportunities to try and tie the game in the final minute, but three-pointer attempts by both Ashley Lovelady and Missy Whitney were off the mark, and UE senior guard Rebekah Parker sealed the Purple Aces’ victory with a free throw with 5.8 seconds to play to give Evansville a 60-56 lead, and eventually its first post-season victory in school history.

 

Parker led four Purple Aces in double-figures with 15 points, while Austin added 12 and Jennings and freshman guard Ashlee Barrett each chipped in 10 points apiece. Whitney led Southeast Missouri State with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Sharpe pitched in 11 points and Blunt added 10.

 

With the victory, Evansville improves to 21-11 overall. SEMO, meanwhile, sees its 2008 season end with a 23-9 overall record. Evansville will continue on in the Postseason WNIT on Monday night at 7:00 p.m., as the Purple Aces will travel to Lawrence, Kansas to take on the Kansas Jayhawks. Monday’s game can be heard live in the Tri-State area on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.