Box Score The Basics
Score: Evangel 64, Baker 63
Location: Springfield, Mo. (Ashcroft Center)
Records: Evangel (10-11, 9-7), Baker (9-11, 5-10)
Box Score
Story by Mike Bennett, special contributor to www.evangelathletics.com
It doesn't matter who steps up.
As long as someone does.
On Saturday, there were many someones – on offense and defense – as Evangel scored a last-seconds 64-63 victory over Baker in women's basketball at Ashcroft Center.
Alexis Roach scored 20 points, including nine in the third quarter when the Valor offense and defense started to click at the same time and Baker's players appeared to wear down.
Micah Clayton calmly sank a pair of free throws with 20.5 seconds left for the tying and winning points. She totaled 12 points and five rebounds.
Paiton Acord made six rebounds, Kohnnar Patton nine points, Jazzy Kirby three steals and three assists, Giah Moore five rebounds and three steals.
The victory in the first game of a three-game homestand solidified the Valors' seventh-place position in the Heart Conference with a record of 9-7 as Baker dropped to 5-10. Evangel is 10-11 overall and Baker is 9-11. "That's just how we like them. We have a really deep team. We know anyone can get double-figures," Coach Preston Beverly said.
The Valors' swarming defense forced Baker to the perimeter for the final seconds after Clayton's free throws. The Wildcats got off an off-balance trey attempt at the final buzzer that bounced hard off the rim as the crowd loudly cheered the victory.
"I just decided it was go-time," Roach said about the third quarter. "We made some great passes and the defense really got going. The whole team got in the game."
Evangel turned a 34-29 halftime deficit into a 48-47 lead entering the last quarter.
Roach made a trey late in the second quarter to reduce a game-high 8-point Baker advantage, then swished another trey for the first points of the second half.
Evangel forced the Wildcats into a stretch of turnovers in the third quarter and then playmaking point guard Ainsley Tolson (six assists) picked up her fourth foul.
That led to the Wildcats slowing their offense.
"We came out with a sense of urgency, which we talked about in the locker room at halftime," said Coach Preston Beverly. "They (Wildcats) were constantly moving and they execute very well." His team became more deliberate, too, as the final minutes wound down. "You get in the final moments, you want to slow it down," Beverly said. "Now, it's winning time."
Evangel forced 26 turnovers and made 18.
"When our defense gets hot, the offense gets smoother," Roach said. "We build on each other."
The senior guard said she had something to prove because of scoring only five points in Evangel's 68-62 victory at Baker on Dec. 14. But, it doesn't matter to anybody on the team who makes the points, Roach said: "I think it's cool that anybody at any time can step up and be a leader."
Leah Van Eeeden and Sophia Barrett led Baker with 16 points apiece, while Emina Hadzihuseinovic, a 6-foot-3 post player grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Wildcats lost despite shooting 52.6 on field goals (24-of-46). Evangel was 24-of-66 and made 12-of-18 free throws. Baker was 13-of-21.
Evangel hit four treys and Baker had only two.
The Valor return to action on Wednesday by hosting Benedictine at 5:30 p.m. in Ashcroft Center.
Benedictine was 7-14 overall and 4-11 in conference coming into a game Saturday.
"It's another tough one. They are very good," Beverly said. "I anticipate, like Baker, they will come well-prepared and well-coached."
