The Basics

Score: #17 Evangel 86, Saint Mary 82

Records: Evangel (19-2, 16-1), Saint Mary (14-9, 11-6)

Location: Springfield, Mo. (AGFinancial Arena)

Box Score 

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Evangel WBB concluded their brief homestand on Wednesday (Feb. 4) evening, hosting the Saint Mary Spires in a KCAC matchup. Looking to begin building another winning streak, Evangel had to battle against a tough Spires squad, but came out on top late, 86-82, as Carson Dillard recorded her 1000th career point in the win.

Both teams opened Wednesday's game by matching baskets, as Heaven Shockley, Ali Kamies, and Carson Dillard all scored to keep pace with Saint Mary's offense, 10-10. A brief USM 5-0 run was matched by an Evangel 5-0 run keeping the game tied at 15-15. A jumper from Brooklyn Kearbey would be the last Valor basket of the quarter, as Saint Mary closed the quarter on a 4-0 run, forcing EU to trail 23-19 at the end of the period.

Saint Mary opened up the second quarter by taking a six point lead over EU, but the Valor offense came storming back, using a 10-0 run with baskets from Shockley and Kearbey to take a 31-27 lead over the Spires. USM used a 6-2 run to tie the game back up at 33, before the EU defense swarmed Saint Mary in their full court press, as eight consecutive points came off of turnovers, giving EU a 41-33 lead. A Kamie Jenkins free throw closed scoring for Evangel in the quarter, as the Valor led, 42-37, at the break.

Evangel was able to use baskets from Kamies and Shockley to open scoring and take a double digit lead, 51-41. Layups from Dillard and Babirye gave EU their largest lead so far of the evening (14 pts.), 55-41. The Valor were able to hold Saint Mary at arm's length for most of the period, until the Spires drew within eight of Evangel's lead in the final seconds, 68-60.

Saint Mary came out hot to open the fourth quarter of play, drawing within a point of Evangel's lead on a pair of occasions. With 3:09 remaining, Shockley hit the front end of a pair of free throws, giving the Valor a two point lead before exceptional defense from EU allowed Cassidy Hambelton to score another two points from the charity stripe, 79-75. With a minute and a half remaining, Dillard took her defender one on one to the hoop, scoring to give EU a seven point lead, 83-76. After the Spires scored and got a turnover, Hambelton came up clutch on the defensive end, swatting away a three point attempt to keep the Spires from drawing within two of EU's lead. Saint Mary would score to come within four points of Evangel's lead, but Kearbey nailed late free throws as the Valor took a 86-82 win on Wednesday.

QUOTABLE

"I'm proud of our ability to play through some adversity tonight," stated head coach Madi Wallace. "I'm especially proud of Carson for her 1000th point tonight!"

NOTABLE 

• Heaven Shockley scored 25 points to lead EU on Wednesday.

• Carson Dillard (17 pts.), Brooklyn Kearbey (12 pts.) and Cassidy Hambelton (10 pts.) rounded out double digit scoring for EU.

• Shockley pulled down a team high nine rebounds.

• Hambelton passed off eight assists in the win.

• Ali Kamies came away with four steals on Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Evangel WBB hits the road to take on the York Panthers at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 7) afternoon 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.