Lady Eagles Show Promise at Faith Classic

The Lady Eagles were matched with Trinity Bible College (Ellendale, ND) for their first game of the 2017 Faith Classic. The ladies knew going in that this was going to be tougher competition than they had faced in their first game of the year. The first quarter was evenly matched. Trinity jumped on top early and led 12-3 with just under four minutes to go in the quarter; but Faith ended on a 10-3 run to pull to within 2 at the end of the first ten minutes. In the second quarter, both teams exchanged baskets back-and-forth, and Trinity took their two point lead from the first quarter into halftime, leading 25-23.

The third quarter was a continuation of the previous two, as neither team looked to pull away with a lead. Despite Faith's 8 turnovers, the Eagles were able to stay within three, and were just behind the Lions after three quarters, 38-35. The fourth quarter was where Trinity was able to create some distance for themselves. The Eagles struggled on the offensive end, shooting just 1-16. Trinity went on to take a 53-43 victory over Faith.

Freshmen Bekah Smith and Mackenzie Hanson both put up double-doubles in the game. Bekah ended with 11 points and 18 rebounds, while Mackenzie also added 11 points and 13 rebounds. Michaela Crider, another freshman, came in off the bench and provided some extra help on the rebounding efforts, pulling down 11 rebounds. 

The Eagles quick turnaround on Saturday put them in a contest with AFLBS (Plymouth, MN). From the get-go, Faith knew this was not going to be the same back-and-forth competition they had faced the day before. The Eagles jumped on AFLBS early and led 20-3 after the first quarter. They continued their scoring efforts in the second ten minutes and took a comfortable 37-14 lead into halftime.

Faith's dominance of AFLBS was seen again in the third and fourth quarters. The Eagles' convincing 72-32 lead gives them their second win of the season. Freshman Lyndi Shepard led the charge for the Eagles, posting 27 points and 6 steals, including shooting 5-10 from behind the arc. Bekah Smith posted her third straight double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds. 

The Eagles will travel to Kansas City, MO next for a game against Calvary University on Monday, November 20.