Box Score Story by Mike Bennett, special contributor to www.evangelathletics.com
Micah Clayton certainly enjoyed making the tying and winning free throws with 20 seconds left in the game against Baker on the previous Saturday. But, she topped herself this Saturday: The sophomore forward scored on a three-point play with 0.9 left to culminate a furious rally and give Evangel a 74-73 victory over Culver-Stockton.
On the last sequence, she took a pass from Jazzy Kirby and swished a 12-foot jumper as she was fouled. Then, Clayton waited out a timeout, stepped back from the line twice and then stepped up and calmly swished the winner. She also helped set up the winning finish by scoring on a layup with 7 seconds left to make it 72-71.
"It feels like I won a state championship," Clayton said about the jubilant ending. "Free throws are mental to me. I take deep breaths and visualize the ball going in." Evangel immediately fouled after Clayton's lay-up and Paiton Acord grabbed the rebound after the second C-S free-throw attempt bounced away. "Micah has that 'it factor' that you look for in a kid that is always going to fight," said Evangel Coach Preston Beverly. "She has the skill set to come through and make plays. It's one thing to get an and-one, but you still have to hit the free throw. She never wavered."
Clayton finished with 14 points, four assists, three steals and a game-high nine rebounds. Alexis Roach scored a game-high 20 points for Evangel and added eight rebounds, three assists, three blocks and one steal. In winning for the fourth-straight time and sweeping a three-game homestand, Evangel overcame an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter and never led until the winning free throw. C-S won their first meeting, 72-57, in the conference opener on Nov. 26.
"Once we got back to eight, we were saying we can do this. We had to fight for every ball," Clayton said. "We are a better team now. We can finish strong." It was a game befitting a late-season battle for sole possession of fifth place in the Heart Conference. Intense and tight. Full-court pressure against a deliberate offense. Time and again, Culver-Stockton worked the ball around and scored at the end of the shot clock. Many were treys, of which the Wildcats had a 7-1 advantage. The Wildcats built a 34-27 halftime and ballooned it to 56-40 after the third quarter.
But, Evangel's pressure and a 34-17 advantage in the fourth quarter led to the victory. The win boosted Evangel to 11-7 in the Heart Conference and 12-11 overall. C-S is 10-8 and 15-9.
There were other step-up contributors to the late rally and win. Roach made a field goal and seven free throws in the last quarter. Kirby made Evangel's only trey of the game and a late layup. She totaled nine points, three assists and two steals. Freshman Emma Mullings came off the bench to score six points in the final 2:44. Acord and Giah Moore made contested field goals and helped Evangel to a 46-38 overall advantage in rebounds. Acord grabbed seven and scored six points. Alexis Cauthon scored eight points and made six rebounds for Evangel.
"This was a great team win. We played 15 kids, all of them," Beverly said. "This team has a resolve. We were in some tough battles against top-25 teams early in the season. The reason for it was to be ready for games like this. We're making a really good showing late in the year. That was a very good team. At one point, they were first in the conference." Evangel plays the current first-place team, Central Methodist (23-0 overall and 17-0 in league) at 5:30 p.m. on the road Wednesday night. "They should be No. 1 in the country after this weekend," Beverly said. "I feel good. It's not going to be an easy game, but we are going in with a four-game winning streak. Why not get to five?"
