The Basics
Score: #17 Evangel 83, Ottawa 76 (OT)
Records: Evangel (17-1, 14-0), Ottawa (12-9, 7-8)
Location: Springfield, Mo. (AGFinancial Arena)
Box ScoreÂ
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Evangel WBB concluded their homestand on Wednesday (Jan. 28) evening, hosting the Ottawa Braves, looking to earn their 16th consecutive win. Despite holding a late lead, the Braves would use a furious run to force overtime, that the Valor would dominate, taking a 83-76 win at home on Wednesday night.
Both teams battled in the first quarter, as neither team was able to extend out to much of a lead. Trailing 4-3 early, Evangel was able to use a 6-0 run with points coming from Heaven Shockley and Carson Dillard to take a 9-4 lead. Ottawa quickly responded by tying the game up at nine, before Kamie Jenkins scored a layup and Alyssa McCarty nailed a stepback three. The Valor were able to maintain this five point lead for the rest of the quarter, as a Ali Kamies layup at the buzzer gave EU a six point lead, 21-15.
Ottawa opened the second quarter by hitting a three, cutting Evangel's lead to three, 21-18. The Valor were able to quickly respond to the Braves triple, using a 8-1 run, with several baskets coming from Brooklyn Kearbey, to extend their lead to 10 points, 29-19. Both teams traded baskets the rest of the period, as the Valor led, 35-25, at the halftime break.
Dillard nailed a three point to open scoring for Evangel in the third quarter, but the Braves quickly responded with a 5-0 run. Dillard again showed off her long range scoring, hitting another three and a midrange jumper to slow the Braves run, 41-30. Kamies got in on the long range action, hitting a three to give EU a 12 point lead, before the Braves again generated a run, 44-39. A McCarty three before the media timeout helped slow Ottawa's offense, 47-39. EU began to swing momentum in the following three minutes, using another McCarty basket, this one an and-one, to take a 54-42 lead. Each team traded scores to close the third quarter, as EU led, 56-44.
The Braves were able to dig into Evangel's lead to open the fourth quarter, drawing within eight of the Valor lead. A trio of Cassidy Hambelton layups and a three pointer from Dillard extended Evangel's lead to 16 points, 71-55, with just over three minutes remaining. Ottawa did not go down without a fight, nailing several three pointers to draw within three points of the lead with just 43 seconds remaining, 71-68. After Evangel missed on the offensive end on their following possession, Ottawa had a chance to tie the game up with 10.1 seconds remaining. The Braves would do just that, nailing a three to tie the game up at 71-71, forcing an overtime period.
Ottawa opened the overtime period by scoring the first bucket and would match a Dillard basket to maintain a two point lead, 75-73, before Hambelton scored a layup to tie the game at 75. The Braves missed the back end of two free throws and Shockley converted an old-fashioned three point play to give EU a two point lead, 78-76. After earning a defensive stop, Hambelton made a beautiful reverse layup to extend EU's lead to four, 80-76, with 59 seconds remaining. The Valor hit their free throws the rest of the way, taking a 83-76 win over the Braves on Wednesday.
QUOTABLE
"I'm proud of our overtime grit tonight," stated head coach Madi Wallace. "Ready to get back to work for our trip to Bethel this weekend!"
NOTABLEÂ
UP NEXT
Evangel WBB hits the road to take on the Bethel College Threshers at 12:00 p.m. in North Newton, Kan., on Saturday (Jan. 31) afternoon.
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. Â
