Springfield, Mo. – The Central Methodist women's basketball team fell to Evangel University by a score of 89-70 Wednesday night in Springfield, Mo.
Central falls to a 3-2 overall and 2-2 in conference play while the Crusaders improve to a 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the Heart.
In the first, quarter the Crusaders were quick to grab the lead, holding a five-point advantage with 7:36 left in the frame. Central battled back to take a lead of their own with 4:24 left. CMU carried their lead into the second quarter before Evangel battled back to lead by as many as seven points with 1:34 left before half. However, the Eagles went on a 7-0 run to close the gap and tie the game at 36-36. R'Manie Pulling led the offense with 11 first-half points.
Central scored the opening two baskets of the third quarter to hold a 40-36 lead, but Evangel regained momentum and both teams battled back and forth for the next six minutes of game action, with neither team leading by more than four points. Trailing 52-50 Evangel went on a 15-2 scoring run, taking an 11-point lead heading into the final quarter. The Evangel offense cruised in the fourth period, extending their lead up to 24 points en-route to an 89-70 win over CMU.
Despite the loss, four Eagles reached double-digit figures. R'Manie Pulling and Vanda Cuamba led the way with 17 points each, while Cuamba grabbed 12 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. She also collected recorded two blocks. Natalia Shpegel and Leah Johnson followed with 11 and 10 points respectively. Johnson also collected five rebounds and three blocks in just a little under 10 minutes of game action.
As a team, Central forced 16 turnovers and shot 35.4-percent from the field and 22.7-percent from beyond the arc. Evangel finished the evening shooting 41.3-percent from the floor and 23.1-percent from the three-point line.
The Eagles were impressive from the charity stripe, converting 19-of-24 attempts for nearly 80-percent.
CMU will return to action Saturday, Dec. 5 at 1:00 p.m. to face Heart newcomer Park University in Parkville, Mo.
#TakeFlight
