EVANSVILLE, IND. –  Lipscomb women's basketball opened the 2023-24 season on the road in Evansville, Indiana, at Meeks Family Fieldhouse against the Evansville Purple Aces out of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Tuesday night. The Bisons used an commanding second quarter to open up a sizable lead which they'd carry the entire way, starting the season strong with a 77-58 win over Evansville. 

Preseason All-ASUN select Aleah Sorrentino led the way for the Bisons with 25 points, going 11-of-16 from the floor while snagging eight rebounds. Bella Vinson, who also received conference preseason honors, had a solid opening night performance, ending with 15 points and eight rebounds.

Claria McGowan and Molly Heard rounded out the double-figure scores with 15 and 12, respectively. Ainhoa Cea dished out four assists while adding eight points and two steals in the first contests of her sophomore campaign.

As a team, the Bisons shot 48.6% from the floor while holding the Purple Aces to a 34.9% clip in their home gym. Lipscomb out-rebounded Evansville 44 to 36 and outscored the Purple Aces in the paint by a wide margin of 56-28. 

The teams traded buckets for most of the first quarter until the Bisons began to separate themselves late, ending with a 17-13 lead after one-quarter of play. 

Lipscomb took control in the second quarter, outscoring Evansville 20-10. The Bisons did most of their damage down low, scoring 14 of their 20 points in the painted area. They also held Evansville to two points inside and forced them into shooting 3-of-16 from the floor in the quarter.

Claira McGowan led the charge for the Bisons in with seven of her 15 points coming in the quarter. As a result, Coach Sumski's squad took a 37-23 advantage into the break. 

The second half much more contested but the Bisons won the two quarters by a combined 40-35, led by Sorrentino who put in 14 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting. Lipscomb led by as much as 23 in the second half and eventually cruised to a 77-58 win on the road to open the season. 

HERD NOTES:

• Lipscomb had four players in double figures to open the season.
• The win was the first opening-day victory during the Lauren Sumski tenure and just the fifth first-game win since the program moved to DI. The last time Lipscomb women's basketball won a season opener was in the 2018-19 season against Tennessee State 64-62 at home.
• The win also marks the first victory over the Purple Aces in the all-time series. Evansville leads the series now 1-4. 
• Lipscomb shot 50% or more from the floor in all but the first quarter. 
• Sorrentino was two points shy of her career-high of 27, which she scored against Northern Kentucky in November of last season. 
• Last season, the Bisons faired well when shooting 40% or more from the field, going 17-5 in 2022-23. The Bisons shot well over that mark tonight. 
• The Bisons start the season with a win on the road, something they did often last season. Coach Sumski's ball club went 10-6 in true road games a year ago.

COACH LAUREN SUMSKI POSTGAME:

UP NEXT: 
Lipscomb will play its season home opener on Friday, Nov. 10. Tipoff is set for 11 AM CT, with the contest airing on ESPN+. Continue to check lipscombsports.com and the team's social media accounts (@lipscombwbb on IG and @lipscomb_wbb on X) for the most up-to-date information on Lipscomb women's basketball.