The Basics
Score: Evangel 90, Peru State 46
Records: Evangel (11-7, 9-6); Peru State (4-14, 2-11)
Location: Ashcroft Center

Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Using an early offensive surge and a stingy defense, the Evangel women's basketball team captured its third-straight victory with a 90-46 win over Peru State on Senior Day Saturday afternoon in Heart of America Athletic Conference action at the Ashcroft Center.

Evangel scored 16 of the game's first 18 points en route to building a 28-point first-half lead, as Bayley Harman scored 13 of her game-high 17 points in the opening half to pace the Crusader attack.

EU forced 28 Peru turnovers and limited the Bobcats to 0.345 shooting, extending throughout the second half before Rylee Neill's buzzer-beater accounted for the 44-point difference—the Crusaders' largest lead of the game.

"What a great day for Desi Smith and the rest of the team," EU head coach Megan Leuzinger said. "It's always nice to be able to win on Senior Day. As our lone senior, Desi is the epitome of an Evangel women's basketball player. She leads her life with grace and has such a great work ethic. I thought our girls came out focused and energized from the tip. This is truly a team win and an added bonus to be able to recognize Desi for her amazing contributions to this program."

Evangel wasted little time in seizing control of the contest with a dominant first quarter that saw the Crusaders hit eight of their first 12 shots. Harman went 4-of-5 from the floor over the first four minutes to spark a 10-0 run that handed EU a 16-2 lead, while the Crusader defense forced seven straight Peru State misses during the spurt.

After a Dayna Dewitt three-pointer at the 3:35 mark stopped the run, EU responded with another string of unanswered points to build a 19-point advantage by the end of the quarter.

The Crusaders shot 0.579 (11-of-19) from the floor and outscored the Bobcats by a 14-2 margin in the paint in the opening period. Defensively, EU forced nine PSC turnovers and limited the Bobcats to 0.143 shooting as a team.

Ultimately, four different Crusaders scored as part of a 13-0 outburst that extended the lead to 29-5 early in the second. A Kohnnar Patton 15-footer started the run, before a Sadie Chisum three-pointer and a Logan Jones basket made it an 18-point game.

EU stretched the margin to as many as 28 points before taking a 44-17 cushion into intermission. After Brianna Vogts opened the second-quarter scoring by converting a pair of free-throw tries, Harman scored five-straight EU points, and Alexis Cauthon drained a three to make it a 34-10 contest. Abby Oliver reached the 1,300-point plateau for her career with a long three, and Sophie Sparks added a triple of her own to extend the Crusader advantage.

After Peru State would momentarily pull to within 20 points by hitting its first three shots of the third period, the Crusaders answered with six straight points behind buckets from Olivers, Vogts and Sparks.

The Bobcats would get no closer than 22 the rest of the way, with EU scoring 18 of the final 27 points of the period to take a 31-point bulge into the final quarter.

EU would maintain its sizable advantage throughout the quarter, extending the margin to 40 points on a Jones free throw with 5:29 to play.

The Crusaders shot 0.468 (37-of-79) for the afternoon and logged 15 steals, getting a boost from a bench that outscored the Peru reserves by a 47-20 margin.

In addition to Harman's effort, Sparks finished with 11 points, a career-best nine rebounds and two steals, while Patton added 11 points and a career-high five assists for EU.

Dewitt and Maddy Duncan each scored nine points to lead the Bobcats, who dropped their fifth-consecutive contest.

UP NEXT
Evangel hosts Graceland for a 5:30 p.m., Heart Conference game Monday (Feb. 8) evening at the Ashcroft Center.

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—