Wright State University
0-1
Evansville
2-1
Women Drop Season Opener at Evansville
11/22/2008 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Wright State rallied back from double-digit deficits in both halves and trailed by only three with just over a minute to play, but could not get over the hump as the Evansville Purple Aces posted a 63-59 win over the Raiders in WSU's season opener Saturday at Roberts Stadium.
WSU scored the first five points of the contest, only to see Evansville take the lead for good by scoring 17 of the next 22 points. The Aces, who hit all six of their three-point attempts in the first half, extended the margin to as much as 25-11 before Wright State closed the period with a 13-6 run, making it 31-24 at the break.
The Aces shot 46 percent in the opening 20 minutes compared to 32 percent for the Raiders.
Evansville again pushed the margin to double digits at 49-37 with 9:38 to play, but again WSU would make a comeback, cutting the deficit to 53-51 on a fast-break layup by Erica Richardson at the 4:49 mark.
Five straight points from Shannon Novosel pushed the Evansville lead back up to seven, only to see the Raiders trim it to 60-57 on a pair of Shey Peddy foul shots with 1:20 to play.
The Raiders, however, could get no closer as, despite a Kanisha Ward layup that made it 62-59, Novosel hit a free throw at the 3.5-second mark to seal it.
WSU shot 51 percent in the second half to finish at 42 percent overall while Evansville hit for just 28 percent the final 20 minutes to end up at 37 percent. The Aces, though, hit nine of 17 from three-point range compared to two of 11 for the Raiders and forced Wright State into 28 turnovers while committing 23, resulting in a 30-15 differential in points off of turnovers.
LaShawna Thomas led all scorers with 22 for the Raiders while Peddy had 13 and Molly Fox, in her WSU debut, chipped in 10 off the bench.
Four starters scored in double figures for Evansville (2-1), paced by Robyn Jennings with 17, Novosel with 13, 10 in the second half, Amy Gallagher 12 and Ashley Austin 12.
Wright State (0-1) hits the road again on Tuesday as the Raiders face Eastern Kentucky for a 5:30 contest.
