The Basics
Score: Benedictine 64, Evangel 57
Records: Evangel (3-1, 1-1), Benedictine (7-4, 5-2)
Location: Ralph Nolan Gymnasium

Box Score

ATCHISON, Kan. – Benedictine used a 17-2 scoring run to take control of a tight contest and ultimately hand the Evangel women's basketball team its first setback of the season with a 64-57 decision over the Crusaders Saturday afternoon at the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium.

The Ravens scored 11 unanswered points over the final three minutes of the first half, then extended their lead to 15 in the opening minutes of the second stanza to seize control of a back-and-forth contest. BC's Skylar Washington tallied a game-high 15 points and helped her squad shoot over 45 percent for the game with her efficient 4-for-5 effort from the floor.

Evangel connected on just 33.3 percent of its attempts from the floor, despite 12 points from Alexis Roach and a defense that forced 21 BC turnovers for the afternoon.

Benedictine overcame an strong start by the Crusasders, who used a pair of three-pointers from Zoey Mullings and Alexis Cauthon to grab an early 6-2 lead. The Ravens responded with a 6-0 run of their own, then built a pair of five-point leads in the second period, thanks to five straight points from Washington.

EU responded with six consecutive points on treys by Kohnnar Patton and Roach to knot the score at 23-23 with 3:13 left in the half. After an Aaliyah Raines bucket at the 2:45 mark snapped the deadlock, Alleigh Kramer sank a three-pointer and Twilah Carrasquillo converted a three-point play to extend the margin to BC margin eight points. Ali Brzozowski connected from long range with just 34 seconds left in the half, before Rylee Neill's bucket stopped the Ravens' run.

The Ravens shot a torrid 0.536 (15-of-28) from the floor in the half, while holding the Crusaders to just 35.7 percent shooting from the field.

BC kept the heat on Evangel at the onset of the third period, scoring the first four points to establish its largest lead of the day at 40-25.

Fueled by five straight points from freshman Logan Jones, the Crusaders responded with a 9-2 run to slice the deficit to eight points with just over five minutes to play in the quarter.

But BC scored 10 of the next 15 points to take a 52-41 advantage into the fourth period. Evangel cut its deficit to six points on three separate occasions, including a late run that drew the Crusaders to within 58-52 with just over three minutes left on the clock.

The Ravens responded one final time to put the game on ice, as a 6-1 BC run sealed the outcome.

Benedictine, which finished 24-of-53 (0.453) from the floor and controlled the boards throughout the game, finishing with a 43-26 advantage in total rebounds.

In addition to Roach's 12 points, the Crusaders got 11 points from Jones and 10 from Brianna Vogts.

UP NEXT
The Crusaders continue a three-game road stretch with a Thursday (Dec. 10) Heart Conference contest with Missouri Valley in Marshall.

For the latest information on Evangel Athletics, follow the Crusaders on Facebook at Facebook.com/EUAthletics, Twitter (@EUAthletics), or visit EvangelAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the new Evangel Crusaders GamedayApp through Google Play. 

—EvangelAthletics.com—