The Basics

Score: #4 Evangel 79, #13 USAO 74

Records: Evangel (28-2), USAO (19-11)

Location: Springfield, Mo. (AGFinancial Arena)

Box Score 

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Evangel Women's Basketball opened the NAIA National Tournament at home on Friday (Mar. 13) evening, taking on the 13-seeded USAO Drovers in the opening round of play. Despite trailing by as much as six points in the third quarter, Evangel hung tough with the athletic Drover squad, taking a 79-74 win over the Drovers, advancing to tomorrow's matchup with #12 Shawnee State for the right to advance to the final site.

Cassidy Hambelton opened Friday's matchup with eight consecutive Evangel points to give the Valor a 8-2 lead over USAO. Baskets from Ali Kamies helped EU maintain their lead, but the Drovers chipped at the Valor lead, trailing by four points with 3:49 remaining in the quarter. Brooklyn Kearbey and Kamie Jenkins allowed Evangel to maintain their lead, extending it to double digits on free throws from Lydia Babirye, as EU led, 25-16, at the end of the period.

The Drovers were able to open the second quarter by cutting into Evangel's lead, but baskets from Hambelton and Jenkins re-gave EU a double digit lead, 38-25, with 3:37 remaining in the half. A 9-2 USAO run to close the first half made it a six-point Evangel lead, 40-34.

USAO came out firing in the third quarter, going on a 12-0 run over the first 3:15 of the period to lead EU, 46-40. A jumper from Heaven Shockley, followed by Carson Dillard's first three pointer of the night made the Valor deficit just one point, 46-45. At the 2:23 mark of the third quarter, Babirye hit a three pointer, with Hambelton scoring to tie the game up at 52-52. Hambelton was able to close the quarter out with a layup, as EU led by three at the end of the quarter, 56-53.

Evin Montgomery opened the fourth quarter nailing a three pointer off the bench to give the Valor momentum. Big shots down the stretch from Babirye and Montgomery helped EU jump out to a nine-point lead, 71-62, with 4:22 remaining. The Valor were able to nail free throws down the stretch, with Kearbey and Kamies carrying the load down the stretch, as the Valor came away with a 79-74 win at home, advancing to the second round of the NAIA National Tournament.

QUOTABLE

"I'm incredibly proud of our bench tonight! Lydia and Kamie really stepped up and got things done for us. I thought we really showcased our depth on the national stage," stated head coach Madi Wallace. "Tomorrow, we will face a very tough Shawnee State team and we are looking forward to the challenge."

NOTABLE 

• Cassidy Hambelton led the charge for EU, scoring 24 points in Friday's win.

• Lydia Babirye (15 pts, 12 reb.), Ali Kamies (11 pts.), and Brooklyn Kearbey (10 pts.) rounded out double digit scoring on Friday.

• Kamie Jenkins pulled down a team high 18 rebounds in the win, off the bench, the most since she pulled down 17 back in February of 2025.

UP NEXT

The Evangel Women's Basketball team will host #12-seeded Shawnee State on Saturday (Mar. 14) afternoon at 4:00 p.m., for the right to advance to the final site in Sioux City, Iowa.

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.