The Basics

Score: Evangel 83, Ottawa 74

Location: Springfield, Mo. (AGFinancial Arena) 

Records: Evangel (4-6, 3-3), Ottawa (5-6, 2-4) 

Box Score 

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Evangel Women's Basketball returned home on Wednesday (Dec. 11) evening, hosting the Ottawa Braves as both teams looked to move to .500 in conference play with a win. A strong shooting night from long range helped power the Valor to a 83-74 victory over the Braves, as EU earned their second consecutive win of the season.

Evangel and Ottawa played an evenly matched and high scoring first quarter, as both teams took a 22-22 game into the second quarter of play. The Valor jumped out to an 11-5 lead, using a trio of three pointers from Resa Martin, Jazzy Kirby, and Carson Dillard to fuel the run before Ottawa struck back, going on a 12-0 run to retake the lead over Evangel, 17-11. Emily Recker and Evin Montgomery both buried threes to keep the game in reach as EU ended the quarter with a three pointer from Martin.

In the second quarter, Evangel outscored Ottawa, 24-14, to take a 10-point halftime lead. Ali Kamies paced the Valor offense in the quarter, scoring seven points as Evangel took a 46-36 lead into the halftime break. Kamies also pulled away three steals in the quarter, helping cool off the Ottawa offense.

A 13-6 run for the Valor to open the third quarter, fueled by eight points from Kamie Jenkins, helped give Evangel their largest lead of the evening, 59-42. Jenkins did not stop there, scoring another four points to finish with 12 in the third quarter alone, helping push Evangel to a 65-52 lead at the end of the third quarter. 

Ottawa pressed and fought to try and come back in the final quarter, pulling to within six points in the final minutes of play, but exceptional free throw shooting (12-14) in the final three minutes pushed the Valor to a strong 83-74 win over the Braves, their second consecutive conference win of the season.

QUOTABLE 

"That was a fun one tonight. The first half our three point shooting was spot on and then in the second half, Kamie Jenkins got our inside game working," stated Head Coach Jim Middleton. "We hit our free throws in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. I'm proud of our players only having 10 turnovers versus a team that presses."

NOTABLE 

• Kamie Jenkins led Evangel with 18 points in the win.

• Ali Kamies passed off a team high four assists and stole five passes on Saturday.

• Jenkins pulled down seven rebounds in the win.

• Carson Dillard (15 pts.), Ali Kamies (11 pts.), and Jazzy Kirby (11 pts.), all rounded out double digit scoring in the win.

UP NEXT 

Evangel WBB hits the road for their final conference game of 2024, taking on the York Panthers at 12:00 p.m. in York, Nebraska.

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.