EVANSVILLE, Ind. — The University of Evansville women’s basketball team earned a gritty 81-77 preseason victory on Thursday night against the Oakland City Mighty Oaks.
In her first game at the collegiate level, forward Nevaeh Thomas led the Purple Aces in scoring and rebounds with a 27-point, 15-rebound stat line. Sophomore guard Kynidi Mason Striverson was UE’s other double-digit scorer with 15 points and led the team in steals with two swipes. Evansville controlled possession time and second-chance points in its first taste of action against the Mighty Oaks.
“I’m proud of us for handling everything we could handle tonight,” said Head Coach Robyn Scherr-Wells following the game. “Oakland City did a great job. They came in here very confident. And I’m proud of our girls for fighting through.
“We’re pretty short-handed at the guard spot right now. So I’m proud of some kids for stepping up. We got some good minutes from some of our young players, including Nevaeh. Overall it was a great game for us. Oakland City did a great job and it helps us learn some things and prepare for the next one,”.
It was a slow start for the Aces as Oakland City jumped out to a five-point lead and controlled through most of the first quarter. UE kept the Mighty Oaks from breaking out on any major runs finding jump shots in the paint. But at the halfway mark of the first, Evansville trailed by eight going into the media timeout. Out of the timeout, the Aces put together a six-point run giving them room to take their first lead with under two to go in the quarter. An eight-point run for UE closed out the quarter, giving the team a four-point lead going into the second.
Both offenses struggled in the second quarter with only two made baskets in the first three minutes. The two teams traded makes to keep things close until the Mighty Oaks had an 8-2 run to retake the lead by four points. The Aces brought the deficit down to only one but two free throw attempts in the final 15 seconds had Oakland City with the slight edge.
UE had its best offensive quarter in the third, outscoring the Mighty Oaks 30 to 20. The quarter began with more back-and-forth play but Evansville was able to break out on a 12-point run in the final five minutes. The run was highlighted by the Aces first three-pointer of the game from guard Alana Striverson. Stiverson made her second trey of the quarter as time expired in the third on a turnover to give Evansville a seven-point lead heading into the final quarter.
Despite Oakland City getting the first basket of the fourth, UE had a 9-2 run early for its largest lead of the game. The 12-point lead for the Aces with 6:33 left in the game helped to fend off a late-game surge from the Mighty Oaks. Evansville had a double-digit lead with just over three minutes to go, but Oakland City strung together four shots including a three to make it a three-point game. A pivotal foul drawn in the final 20 seconds from guard Lexie Sinclair sealed the win for the Aces as she made both tries to end the game at 81-77.
UE begins the regular season next week at Meeks Family Fieldhouse. Evansville will welcome Lipscomb to town on Tuesday, Nov. 7 to kick off the 2023-24 non-conference slate. Tipoff from Meeks is set for 6 p.m. on Tuesday.