The Basics
Score: Evangel 85, Park 53
Records: Evangel (9-7, 7-6), Park (1-14, 0-14)
Location: Breckon Sports Center 

Box Score

PARKVILLE, Mo. – The Evangel women's basketball team dominated Park from start to finish, shooting a season-best 55-percent from the floor while forcing 29 Pirate turnovers in an 85-53 Heart of America Athletic Conference victory at the Breckon Sports Center Wednesday evening.

Bayley Harman led the Crusaders with 15 points, while Sophie Sparks chipped in with a career-high 13 and Sadie Chisum added 11 to a balanced EU attack that featured 12 different players in the scoring column.
 
Evangel scored 15 unanswered first-quarter points to take control of the contest, hitting 5-of-6 field-goal attempts and 4-of-4 free-throw tries during the critical run. Brianna Vogts basket in the paint at the 6:04 mark ignited the surge, and a Sparks trey capped it five minutes later, giving the Crusaders a 20-4 advantage.

EU's defense was equally impressive, forcing 11 consecutive Park misses from the floor and six first-period Pirate turnovers in outscoring the home club 21-6 in the opening quarter.

The Crusaders extended their lead in the second, scoring the first nine points of the period to build a 30-9 cushion. Mia Mills' putback with 3:09 left on the clock made it a 41-15 game, before back-to-back three-pointers by Rylee Neill gave EU a 30-point cushion.

Harman and Oliver led the Crusaders with nine first-half points, while Neill added eight to power an offense that torched the nets to the tune of 0.625 (15-of-24) shooting in the opening 20 minutes.

EU continued to pour it on at the onset of the third quarter, outscoring the Pirates 19-5 over the first six minutes. A triple by Sparks, followed by a Kohnnar Patton basket completed the spurt and handed the Crusders their largest lead of the game at 67-29.

Park, which shot 0.346 from the floor, would get no closer than 29 the rest of the game. Kiana Smith paced the Pirate offense with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting.

UP NEXT
Evangel travels to Oskaloosa, Iowa, Saturday (Jan. 30) for a Noon Heart Conference contest against William Penn.

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—