Please join the Office of Fiscal Affairs in saying farewell to Nancy Grimes. A farewell reception will be held on Tuesday, January 3 from 2–4 p.m. in Accounting & Audit, Olmsted Hall, Room 213.  Nancy has worked in Accounting & Audit since 2004.  She was recently elected Clerk-Treasurer for the City of Poseyville.  She will assume her new position in January. 

UE faculty, staff, students, and community are invited to attend the free (bring your lunch) Lunch & Learn session on Wednesday, January 11, from noon–12:50 p.m. in Eykamp 253, Ridgway University Center.  The session will be presented by Centennial Wealth Advisory on "Maximizing Your Retirement Savings Program." Please contact Judy Caldwell at jc313@evansville.edu if you have questions. This event is sponsored by the Center for Adult Education. 
 

The TIAA CREF representative will be on the UE campus on Tuesday, January 10, and Thursday, January 12, for individual counseling sessions.  To schedule an appointment, call TIAA CREF at 1-800-732-8353 or 317-706-6200.   The sessions will be held in the Clifford Rare Books Room in the Library (Room 158).  If you have any questions, call Carol McCraney at extension 2943

An updated Summary Plan Description (SPD) for the TIAA-CREF retirement plan has been posted on the HR area of AceLink.  SPD’s for all benefit plans, which provide a comprehensive description of plan benefits, eligibility, and termination of coverage, can be found in the Benefits section at: http://acelink.evansville.edu/Areas/HR/   A hard copy of SPD’s will be made available upon employee request.  If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Human Resources at ext. 2943.
 

The December Pcard Cycle which began on November 22 will end on December 21.  Due to the holidays, December Pcard Statements should  be reconciled and printed from SDG2 after December 31 and before January 5.  Printed December Cycle Statements along with transaction receipts should be submitted in a Pcard Envelope and routed to your Supervisor for signature.  Note: Cardholders will not be able to reconcile 2011 December Cycle transactions as of January 5.

The textbook, “Analytical Fracture Mechanics,” by Professor of Mechanical and Civil Engineering David J. Unger was returned to print by Dover Publications in November.

Sympathy to Professor Emeritus Dudley Thomas, whose wife Sandy passed away Thursday morning, December 29, after a long illness.  Dr. Thomas was on the faculty in the Department of Theatre for 35 years. At various times during his tenure he taught directing, dramatic literature, playwriting, directed productions, and served as Department Chair.  He resides in Newburgh, Ind.

Despite four Purple Aces reaching double figures, including Briyana Blair’s third double-double of the season, the University of Evansville women’s basketball team fell, 62-49, at Illinois State Sunday afternoon. With the loss, UE falls to 3-10 on the season and 0-2 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while the Redbirds improve to 7-6 overall and 2-0 in the MVC.

Blair recorded 11 points and 14 rebounds, while also adding six assists and three steals, surpassing the 100 steals and 400 points milestones in her career.

Junior Meagan Collins scored a team-high 13 points, while classmates Samantha Heck added 11 and Taylor Ware logged 10 points and six rebounds.

A slow start for both teams, shooting a combined 0-for-11 from the field, Evansville took the initial lead on Blair’s left block lay in. However, the Redbirds hit three straight shots to take over the lead. With 15:32 remaining in half, Collins’ three gave the Aces a 7-6 advantage, but that would be their last lead of the game.

Illinois State sped away to a nine point lead on a 12-2 run, capped by Katie Broadway’s two threes.

Evansville cut the margin to three, 18-15, on Ware and Collins’ back-to-back treys at the 5:25 mark. However, the Redbirds ballooned their lead back up to as many as 11 points on another Broadway three. Broadway scored 15 of her game-high 24 points in the first half.

In the final two minutes of the stanza, Ware recorded two baskets to cut the deficit to eight, 31-23, at the break.
In the second half, Illinois State’s lead ping-ponged between six and 13 points, as Evansville made it a two possession game four times in the period. Unfortunately, every time UE got that close, the Redbirds would shift the momentum back into their favor.

The Aces went on a 10-3 run to make the score 47-41 on Collins’ layup and kept it a six-point game until Illinois State used a 13-6 run of their own to put the game out of reach in the final seven minutes of play.

In addition to Broadway, Jamie Russell (13 points, nine rebounds) and Candace Sykes (11 points, 13 rebounds) also reached double figures.

The Redbirds outshot Evansville, 35.3-31.0 percent from the field, and 43.5-25.8 percent from three, hitting 10 from behind the arc. They also outrebounded UE, 52-37.

The Aces are back in action Thursday when they host Northern Iowa at the Ford Center in UE’s first home Valley game of the season. Tipoff is at 7:00 p.m.
 

The University of Evansville men’s basketball team overcame an early 14-point deficit to grab a 76-65 win over the University of Northern Iowa on Sunday evening at the McLeod Center.

Colt Ryan was held scoreless in the first half, but came back to score 29 in the second half to lead the Aces (7-5, 2-0 MVC) to the win.  He was a perfect 14-for-14 from the free throw line and hit six out of 15 shots.  Denver Holmes tallied 16 points while Kenneth Harris had 11.

Northern Iowa (10-4, 0-2 MVC) got off to a quick start, knocking down three treys on their way to a 13-2 lead just over four minutes into the contests.  Seth Tuttle scored four early points while Marc Sonnen hit a pair of treys to cap the run.

After starting 1-5 from the floor, the Aces made their way back into the game.  Denver Holmes hit a three-pointer before Colt Ryan found an open Lewis Jones for a layup to make it 15-8, but the Panthers continued their sharpshooting beyond the arc, hitting five of their first nine attempts.  Sonnen hit his third as UNI took a 22-8 lead.  

Following a Kenneth Harris dunk, the Aces finished the half on a 13-5 run to make it a 27-21 game at halftime. Harris scored nine points in the half while forcing a pair of steals, both of which resulted in points for the Aces.  Evansville turned the heat up on defense, forcing 13 UNI turnovers in the opening period, which turned into ten points for UE. 

Despite being shut out in the first half, Colt Ryan kept up the intensity and it paid off in a big way in the second half.  Ryan notched seven points in the first four minutes of the second half, including a three on UE’s opening possession to get the Aces within three points, 27-24.

The Aces kept the run going as it would turn into a 31-14 run over the course of 18 minutes from the first to the second half.  After a Holmes layup cut the lead to just a point, Ned Cox hit consecutive shots to give UE its first lead of the game at 39-36 with 12 minutes left in the contest.

Ryan continued his second half surge.  With under eight minutes remaining, Ryan scored his 14th point of the half giving UE its largest advantage to that point at 48-43.  Holmes also surged in the latter half as his second trey of the game gave him double figures and also gave UE an eight-point advantage. 

A Deon Mitchell three-pointer cut the Aces’ lead back down to five points and with under four minutes left, Seth Tuttle hit an open layup to make it a 56-53 game in favor of the Aces.  UE got a little bit of breathing room with 2:36 remaining as Ryan grabbed a deflected pass and turned it into a bucket that gave the Aces a 58-53 advantage. 

With UE up 60-54, Johnny Moran hit a three with 1:43 remaining to get UNI back within a possession.  Evansville responded with a Cox layup, which sent UE on a run that saw them hold a nine-point edge on several occasions.  The Aces sank their free throws late and came away with the win, marking their first victory in Cedar Falls since the 2001-02 season.

Tuttle was the leading scorer for UNI with 16 points.  Sonnen notched 14 while Deon Mitchell also had 14.  Evansville shot 47.9% for the game while holding the Panthers to 40.7%.  Despite being outrebounded 20-12 in the first half, the Aces held the advantage when it mattered most, grabbing 20 second-half boards while holding UNI to just 13.

Next up for the Aces is Wichita State.  The Shockers fell to 10-3 on the season and 1-1 in the MVC following a 68-61 defeat at the hands of Creighton on Saturday night.  Evansville and Wichita State will square off on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. inside the Ford Center.