Fayette, Mo. - In a battle of the No. 5 and No. 6 teams in the country, the Central Methodist Women's Basketball program knocked off the Clarke University Pride by a final of 71-64 Saturday afternoon inside Puckett Field House. 

With the win, Central improves its perfect record to 6-0 and 2-0 in the Heart, while Clarke falls to 6-1 and 1-1 in conference play. 

The Eagles' defense stymied one of the nation's top offenses in the first quarter, holding the Pride to just seven first-quarter points. Central outscored Clarke, 21-13 in the second quarter to take a 16-point lead into the locker room at the halftime break. 

It was a more even contest in the third, as CMU tallied 16 points compared to 15 for the Pride. Clarke attempted a late fourth quarter comeback, trimming Central's lead to as few six points in the closing moments of the game. 

However, timely free throw shooting from the Eagles prevented any sort of comeback, as Central would pick up a crucial early conference win. 

Sophomore forward Leah Johnson secured a double-double with 20 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. She also added four blocks, two assists, and a steal to her statline. 

Leianya Massenat led all scorers with 21 points in addition to nine rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Jaicia Canady was the final Eagle to land in double figures with 11 points. In addition, the native of Fort Worth, Texas dished out a game-high five assists paired with four steals in the Eagles' win. 

As a team, Central forced 22 Pride turnovers on 11 steals, and held Clarke to just 33.3-percent shooting from the floor. The Pride converted just four-of-20 attempts from beyond the arc for 20-percent. 

CMU will next face MidAmerica Nazarene in the first of a three-game road trip Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 5:30 p.m. in Olathe, Kan. 

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