Dubuque, Iowa - The Central Methodist women's basketball program fell in the Heart Tournament Championship game to regular-season champion Clarke University 56-44 Tuesday night in Dubuque, Iowa.

The Eagles fall to 27-5 while the Pride improve to 29-4. It marks first conference tournament championship for Clarke since joining the conference back in 2016-17. 

Both teams struggled to shoot the ball early in the opening five minutes of the game. With Central holding a 9-6 lead, the Pride closed the quarter on a 11-0 scoring run. Clarke's defense held CMU to only five second quarter points, as the Eagles entered halftime trailing 28-14. 

Central matched Clarke in scoring in both the third and fourth quarters, but were unable to mount a comeback, as the Pride went on to earn a 12-point victory.

Eternati Willock and Kedranea' Addison were the only two Eagles to reach double-digit scoring. Willock led the way with 17 points and a team-high 10 rebounds to earn a double-double. She also added four blocks in 32 minutes of action. 

Addison finished with 13 points, six rebounds, and two steals off the bench. 

As a team, CMU finished the evening shooting just 23.6-percent from the field. The Eagles forced 23 Pride turnovers on 12 steals, but fell in the rebounding efforts 56-41. Daryna Bachkarova led the Central defense with four steals while Jaicia Canaday chipped in three. 

The field of 64 will be announced on the Play NAIA Facebook page Thursday, March 3 at 6:00 p.m. 

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