Independence, Mo. The 14^th ranked and 4 seed Central Methodist University Lady Eagles basketball team, fell in their first round match-up against the 20th ranked and 5 seed University of Great Falls from Montana by a final of 70-58 in the NAIA Division 1 Women's Basketball National Championship tournament at the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena in Independence, Missouri.
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With the loss, the 14^th ranked Lady Eagles close out their 2015-16 season with a record of 26-5. The five losses for CMU, ties the least amount of losses in a season with the 1979-80 team; who finished 15-5. With the victory, the University of Great Falls Lady Argos improve to 23-10 and will face Lyon College from Arkansas in a second round game on Friday March 18^th at 6:15pm in Independence.


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Central Methodist jumped out to an early 5-0 lead on the Lady Argos on Thursday afternoon, thanks to a three-pointer from DaJonee Hale (Anchorage, Alaska) and a layup by Alayah Cooper-Johnson (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) in the first minute and a half. The University of Great Falls responded with a 6-0 run to jump right back into the game and take their first lead of the game. After a quarter of play, Great Falls held a slim 18-17 lead. CMU shot 36% from the field and Great Falls shot 35% from the field. The Lady Eagles shot 1-for-9 from beyond the three-point arc and 2-for-5 from the free-throw line.
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The first ten minutes of the game flew by, as neither team used a single timeout. Central Methodist played all five starters in the first quarter and did not go to their bench until two minutes passed in the second quarter.
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Points continued to come at a premium in the second quarter, as Great Falls outscored CMU 14-11 to take a 32-28 lead at halftime. In the first half, Central Methodist shot 12-for-38 (31%) from the field, and shot just 2-for-16 from beyond the three-point arc.
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The Lady Argos came out ready in the second half, outscoring Central Methodist 10-0 in the first two minutes and seven seconds. In all, Great Falls outscored CMU 21-14, to hold a 53-42 lead heading into the fourth and final quarter.
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Central Methodist had their best quarter of play in the fourth, as they tried to mount a comeback against Great Falls. CMU shot 38% (7-for-18) from the field; their best percentage of the day in a quarter. However, the Lady Eagles struggled beyond the three-point arc, shooting just 2-for-8, and they missed their only two free-throw attempts.
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CMU finished the game shooting 33.8% from the field and 16% (4-for-25) from beyond the three-point arc. The Lady Eagles only attempted 10 free-throw attempts in the game, converting on four of them.
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All of Central Methodist's points came from their starters. DaJonee Hale led CMU with 24 points on 11-of-23 shooting. Hale played all 40 minutes and finished with nine rebounds, two assists and one steal. Alayah Cooper-Johnson and Lexie Moe (St. Peters, Mo.) both finished with double-doubles. Cooper-Johnson finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds, while Moe finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds; after being held scoreless in the first half.
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For more information about Central Methodist University athletics, visit http://www.cmueagles.com. Follow CMU athletics on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cmathletics and on Twitter twitter.com/cmueagles. �������
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