The Basics

Score: Evangel 82, Peru State 73

Location: Springfield, Mo. (Ashcroft Center)

Records: Evangel (6-6, 5-2); Peru State (5-8, 1-6)

Story by Mike Bennett, contributor to www.evangelathletics.com

Call it an early Senior Night – and also a hard-earned Christmas gift.

Evangel punctuated a long climb back from a 1-5 start by reaching .500 on Saturday with a 82-73 victory over Peru State in women's basketball.

The Valor stand at 6-6 going into the Christmas break – and more importantly – rose to 5-2 in the Heart Conference.

They have done so by going 5-0 at Ashcroft Center and winning four consecutive games.

"We protected our home floor like we have done all season. That was a great win," said senior guard Sadie Chisum, who contributed mightily to the victory with 15 points, five assists and two steals.

Three other seniors scored in double figures – forward Paiton Acord with 18 points, forward Alexis Cauthon with 17 and guard Alexis Roach with 12 –  and senior post player Sarah Lwambo had a game-high seven rebounds.

It looked as if the game could be a runaway as Evangel surged to a 45-28 lead at halftime with the help of 15 forced turnovers. But, the Bobcats rallied and whittled the lead to 62-53 with a 25-point third quarter.

Then they cut the score to four – at 64-60 – with 7:14 left in the game before the Valor recovered with the help of a trey by Chisum that boosted the lead to 74-64.

"We figured out how to correct some mistakes we were making (that led to easy Peru State scores)," Chisum said. "We reverted to what we do best – take care of the ball, break the press and shoot free throws."

In fact, Evangel scored on 31-of-38 free throws for 81.6%. The Valor were 17-of-20 in the first half in a game where 51 fouls were called.

"We just had to settle down," said Coach Preston Beverly. "For all the success we have been having, we're still figuring out how to win. We learned some lessons today and still won."

Evangel's lead increased back to 12 – at 76-64 – in the fourth quarter before the Bobcats cut it to five with 55 seconds left.

Chisum then connected on three of the six free throws that the Valor made in the last 54 seconds. Acord added five rebounds. Cauthen scored 13 points and 5-of-5 free throws in the first half.

Roach added six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Evangel led 39-35 in rebounds and forced 23 turnovers (15 in the first half). 

Cauthon connected on four free throws with 5.9 seconds left after she was fouled while shooting – and Peru State coach Ian Holleran was called for a technical foul.

After leading 20-12 at the end of the first quarter, the Valor had moved ahead by 10 early in the second quarter, but the Bobcats rallied and cut it to five. It was 32-25 at 3:16 before Evangel went on a 13-3 run to end the quarter.

Evangel shot 24-for-68 for 35.3% in field-goal attempts and was only 3-for-17 in treys, all coming in the second half.

Sam Stewart led Peru State (5-8 and 1-6) with 16 points and Maddy Duncan had 15

Back-to-back treys by Patton and Micah Clayton made it 60-43 in the third quarter before Peru State started its rally. 

The Valor gained momentum with the help of their first road victory last Wednesday night, with a 68-62 victory at Baker.

The Valor don't play again until 2023. They visit Missouri Valley at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 4.

The Vikings are 6-7 and 2-5 after falling 79-68 on Saturday at home to Grand View. 

"It's an opportunity to get healthy," Beverly said about the break. "Several people have been sick and we have had injuries. Now, we can make that big push in conference."