The Basics
Score: Evangel 94, William Penn 61
Records: Evangel (10-7, 8-6), William Penn (10-7, 10-6)
Location: Penn Gymnasium

Box Score

OSKALOOSA, Iowa – Powered by Bayley Harman's career-best 32-point afternoon, the Evangel women's basketball team sprinted past William Penn, 94-61 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action at Penn Gymnasium.

Led by Harman's EU single-game record 6-for-6 shooting effort from three-point range, the Crusaders connected on a season-best 12-of-22 (0.545) tries from beyond the arc and shot 55-percent from the floor overall to notch their second-straight Heart Conference road win.

Harman was nearly flawless on the offensive end of the floor, knocking down her first nine attempts from the field. The junior finally missed a shot with 6:06 left in the game, en route to finishing 11-of-13 overall from the floor. She added six rebounds, four assists, three steals and a blocked shot as well. 

"It was an incredible performance on the road," EU head coach Megan Leuzinger said. "The girls were locked in from the tip. Bayley had a special performance and we really rallied around her. We won pretty much every statistical battle and I'm so proud of them for that. This was a true team effort today."

The Crusaders used a 17-0 scoring run to take control of the contest in the opening period, thanks in large part to the shooting of Harman. The junior went 7-of-7 from the floor, connecting on all five of her attempts from beyond the three-point arc, to total 21 points in the quarter. Harman scored the final 13 EU points of the period to help her club extend its lead to as many as 21 points, before settling for a 30-14 advantage after one quarter.

William Penn momentarily cut the EU margin down to 14 points after Breanna Wendland knocked down back-to-back baskets, but the Crusaders responded with nine unanswered points to take a 52-26 lead into the break.

EU torched the nets to the tune of 61.3-percent shooting from the field, including a 9-for-9 effort by Harman, who finished the opening half with 25 points.

The Crusaders added to their lead in the third, opening up a 30-point margin on back-to-back buckets by Sophie Sparks and Abby Oliver. The Statesmen would get no closer than 26 the rest of the period, with EU ultimately taking a 67-40 bulge into the final quarter.

Harman scored the first seven EU points to open the fourth, including her sixth three-pointer of the game, to help push the margin back over 30 points. Brianna Vogts' three-point play with 5:02 to play handed the Crusaders an 84-49 lead—their largest of the afternoon.

In addition to their hot shooting from the field, the Crusaders went 16-of-17 (0.941) from the foul line. Logan Jones added 13 points off the bench, going 3-for-3 from three-point range, and Vogts contributed 15 points to go along with seven boards and a game-high six assists.

Wendland scored 20 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to lead William Penn.

UP NEXT
Evangel returns to the Ashcroft Center next Saturday (Feb. 6) to open two-game home stand with a 2 p.m., contest against Peru State.

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—