Box Score The Basics
Score: Evangel 72, (RV) MidAmerica Nazarene 67
Location: Springfield, Mo. (Ashcroft Center)
Records: Evangel (3-6, 2-2); MNU (5-4, 2-2)
Box Score
Story by Mike Bennett, contributor to www.evangelathletics.com
Oh, so earned and so sweet.
Evangel closed off the easy route to layups and free throws in the fourth quarter and executed on the critical last-minute plays on Wednesday night.
The result was a 72-67 victory over MidAmerica Nazarene in women's basketball at the Ashcroft Center.
"We put everything together at the end. We were composed," said sophomore forward Micah Clayton, who totaled 12 points and four rebounds.
She took a perfect pass from sophomore guard Jazzy Kirby out of a timeout and scored the winning basket on a layup with 31 seconds left. Kirby led Evangel with 16 points, six rebounds and two steals.
Senior forward Alexis Cauthon finished with 14 points, including 5-of-6 on field goals and 2-for-3 on 3-point shots.
"I wanted to post her up with some simple action," said Coach Preston Beverly said about the winning play that made it 68-67 with 31 seconds left.
Clayton was thrilled how it turned out: "It was a well-drawn out play. We set some screens and made a great pass. We executed well.
The close victory was a good team win, both Clayton and Beverly said.
"We talk about strength in numbers," Beverly said. "We feel like we have the players to match up with anybody."
There were many other contributors to the win:
– Eleven seconds after Clayton's winning layup, senior guard Sadie Chisum poked the ball loose and then raced in for a layup to make it 70-67. She also hit a pair of free throws with 52 seconds left to tie the game at 66-66.
– Senior guard Alexis Roach scored 11 points, including a jumper with 2:25 left.
– Senior guard Paiton Acord won several scrums for the ball and scored 11 points and a game-high seven rebounds. She made a twisting layup with 4:45 left.
The win was the Valors' third straight at home and lifted them to 3-6 overall and 2-2 in the Heart of America Conference. The Pioneers dropped to 5-4 and 2-2.
Beverly said it's good to be 2-2. "It puts us in a really good spot overall in the league. It seems like it's going to be a very balanced league."
Evangel fell behind and caught back up several times throughout the second and third quarters. The Pioneers feasted off passes into the post for uncontested layups and free throws on the way to a 56-51 lead after three quarters. At that point, they were 20-for-21 on free throws, most resulting from fouls on drives to the basket.
They finished at 21-24 for 87.5 percent. Two of the misses came 35 seconds left after a four on a 3-point shot.
Arielle Sargent led MNU with 13 points and Rachel Seibold added 10. Both teams had eight steals and 18 turnovers.
Clayton said Evangel stopped the easy scores: "We made them shoot over us, rather letting them have easy baskets. We tried to lock and stay focused."
Evangel enjoyed an 35-27 advantage in rebounds.
Both teams pressed throughout in the high-energy contest.
Kirby made a trey at 9:09 and Acord followed with the twisting layup to forge a 56-56 tie.
The teams were tied 13 times and there were 13 lead changes.
MNU took the game's biggest lead – at 49-40 – with 6:05 left in the third quarter.
Cauthon then made a pair of layups and a 3-point shot to draw Evangel back to 49-48.
Thye Valor also fought back from a 30-24 deficit to a 32-30 lead late in the third quarter with the help of 3-pointers from Kirby and Cauthon.
Evangel hosts Mount Mercy in a Heart matchup at noon on Saturday in the Ashcroft Center.
For the latest information on Evangel Athletics, visit Facebook at Facebook.com/EvangelValor, Twitter (@EvangelValor), or EvangelAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on their favorite EU teams by downloading the Evangel Athletics Gameday App through the App Store or Google Play.
—#OneValor—
