The Basics

Score: Evangel 97, Graceland 71 

Location: Lamoni, Iowa (Morden Center) 

Records: Evangel (9-11, 8-7), Graceland (9-12, 4-11) 

Box Score 

LAMONI, Iowa -- After dropping a tough home match to Missouri Valley on Saturday, the Valor Women's Basketball team took to the road to take on the Yellowjackets of Graceland. A strong second and fourth quarter on offense helped propel the Valor to victory on Wednesday, 97-71.

Micah Clayton nailed a jumper to quickly kick off the game, followed by back to back threes from Graceland and a three from Jazzy Kirby, putting the Yellowjackets ahead, 6-5. Lexi Berry, Clayton, and Kirby fueled a 6-0 run to take a five point lead with 5:49 remaining in the quarter, but Graceland responded with a run of their own to even the score. By the end of the first quarter, both teams found themselves all knotted up at 19-19.

Evangel's offense kicked into high gear for their biggest offensive output of the season in a quarter by scoring 31 points in the second period alone. The Valor forced 11 turnovers in the quarter, scoring 14 points on the turnovers. On several occasions, Evangel pushed out to a 13 point lead and Lyla Watson used a 5-0 run of her own to end the quarter and gave the Valor a 50-34 lead heading into halftime.

The Yellowjackets took advantage of poor shooting from Evangel in the third quarter and were able to narrow down the Valor lead. The Valor kicked off the third quarter with baskets from Berry and Kirby to take a 21 point advantage, 55-34, but Graceland did not go down without a fight, using the following six minutes to dwindle the Evangel lead to just six points, 62-56. In the final minute of the quarter, Alexis Roach hit a three, followed by a Clayton jumper to extend Evangel's lead back to double digits, 67-56, at the end of the third frame.

Evangel found additional offense in the final quarter, scoring 30 points en route to a dominant victory over Graceland. 10 different Valor athletes recorded points in the final quarter. The Valor took their largest lead of the evening, 28 points, with just 57 seconds remaining on a Kate Gilbert jumper, but the Yellowjackets hit two free throws to end the game, giving the Valor a 97-71 road victory.

QUOTABLE 

 "No matter the score, road wins are tough. Graceland is a well coached group with athleticism in the paint and on the perimeter. I'm really proud of our execution and IQ to stick to the game plan," stated Head Coach Preston Beverly. "This win is a great lead into our 3 game home series we have coming up." 

NOTABLE 

• Kirby led the Valor with 17 points in the win.

• Clayton, Roach, and Berry all also scored in double figures, finishing with 15, 13, and 11 points, respectively.

• Clayton pulled down a team high eight rebounds.

• Evangel forced 30 turnovers and scored 35 points alone from turnovers.

• Evangel's 97 points were the most points in a game for the Valor since January 19th, 2022, when they scored 108 in a road victory against Park.

NEXT UP 

Evangel will return home to open a three game home stand, hosting the Wildcats of Baker at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday (Jan. 28) afternoon 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—