Fayette, Mo. - CMU Women's Basketball opened their conference slate with a tough matchup against No. 12 MidAmerica Nazarene University Saturday evening inside Puckett Field House. 

Central fell to the Pioneers by a final score of 74-45. 

The Eagles now stand at 3-3 and 0-1 in the Heart, while MNU improves to 4-1 and 1-0 in conference action. 

CMU hung tough with MidAmerica in the first quarter, trailing by just two at the end of the first frame. However, MNU outscore Central, 21-10 in the second quarter to take a 38-25 lead into the locker room at the halftime break. 

MNU's defense held CMU to just nine points in the third and 11 in the fourth to come away with a 29-point victory. 

Only two Eagles landed in double figures, as Asnate Gerke led the offense with 12 points on six-of-nine shooting from the floor. She also added seven rebounds, four assists and a steal to her statline. 

Graduate student Kaitlyn Patke finished the night with 11 points, five steals, and four assists. 

MNU won the battle of the boards, outrebounding CMU 39-24 which included 13 offensive rebounds. 

The Eagles also committed 20 turnovers and made just three trips to the charity stripe. 

Central will look to regroup with another home game against William Penn University Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 5:30 p.m. inside Puckett Field House. 

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