Nebraska Women vs. Evansville

The Nebraska women’s basketball team wraps up its three-game home stand by taking on Evansville.

Scouting The Evansville Purple Aces
Coach Oties Epps brings his Purple Aces to Pinnacle Bank Arena for the first-ever meeting between Evansville and Nebraska in women’s basketball. Evansville has struggled to a 1-6 start in Epps’ fifth season at the helm of the program.

Most recently, Evansville dropped a 73-54 decision in its home opener to Murray State on Saturday. Junior guard Sara Dickey led the Purple Aces with 24 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals against the Racers. The 5-11 Dickey averaged a team-best 18.8 points per game last season, and leads Evansville again with 16.0 points and a team-best 4.9 rebounds per game. She also leads the Purple Aces with 2.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game.

Freshman forward Kerri Gasper adds a second Ace in double figures with 10.0 points and 3.6 rebounds. Gasper has made four starts for Evansville, but did not start against Murray State. She scored six points, including a three against the Racers.

Camille Coleman, a 5-7 freshman guard, has pitched in 8.7 points and 2.4 rebounds for a young set of Purple Aces. Coleman has started every game alongside Dickey and junior Ashley Hawkins. Coleman leads the Purple Aces with her 42.9 percent (9-21) success rate from three-point range, but she also leads Evansville with 24 turnovers. Gasper and Coleman have combined for 17 assists and 45 turnovers.

Hawkins, a 6-1 forward, gives Evansville both size and experience inside. In her first season on the court at Evansville, Hawkins is averaging 4.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. She was a teammate of Nebraska senior forward Anya Kalenta at Vincennes University in Indiana. Hawkins transferred to Evansville prior to last season, but redshirted in 2014-15. Alongside Kalenta at Vincennes, Hawkins averaged 13.3 points and 8.2 rebounds as a sophomore in 2013-14.

An undersized Evansville starting five also could feature 5-6 senior guard Laura Friday (5.4 ppg) and 5-8 sophomore guard Kenyia Johnson (2.3 ppg). Other significant contributors have included 5-5 junior guard Camary Williams (4.6 ppg) and 5-8 sophomore guard Aaliyah Gaines (6.8 ppg).

Evansville has managed 60.4 points but has surrendered 72.7 points per contest as a team. With no player taller than 6-1 on their roster, the Purple Aces also carry a minus-9.6 team rebounding margin on the season. The Purple Aces are shooting just 36.1 percent from the field, including 31.9 percent from three-point range. They have hit 69 percent of their free throws and own a plus-0.1 team turnover margin through seven contests.

Last season, Evansville finished with a 13-19 overall record that included a 6-12 record for a seventh-place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference.

*Information from Huskers.com