Lady Eagles Take 3rd at MCCC Conference Tourney

Faith hit the road for the final time this past weekend to Manhattan, KS for the MCCC Conference Tournament. The Lady Eagles, entering as the #6 seed, met their first match with #3 seeded Central Christian College of the Bible. In their two meetings during the regular season, the teams split 1-1. The Eagles led 23-16 at the end of the first half, despite a relatively slow offensive start. Shortly out of the break, CCCB went on a 17-0 run to take their first lead of the game. Outscoring the Eagles 27-11 in the third quarter, the Saints now held a 43-34 advantage heading into the final ten minutes. Faith answered CCCB's big third quarter with an offensive performance of their own. The Lady Eagles reclaimed the lead and secured a 57-53 victory, upsetting the Saints and moving on to the semifinal round. 

On Friday, Faith went up against their in-state rival Emmaus Bible College for a chance to play in the MCCC Conference Championship. Emmaus had easily defeated the Eagles in their two regular season games, and this one would be no different. Offensively powered Emmaus had already built a 16 point lead just seven minutes into the contest. Faith's 28 percent shooting performance was no match for Emmaus's 48 percent shooting from the field. Emmaus's dominant 80-40 win sent the Eagles to the third place game against Barclay College.

The Lady Eagles were looking for revenge against the Barclay Bears, as Barclay had knocked off Faith 66-60 earlier in the season. Faith took control of the lead early and never looked back. Leading 36-27 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Eagles looked to be in control, until a late push by the Bears made the game interesting. An 11-1 run by Barclay gave them their first lead since the opening minutes. Senior Shannon Steffen answered for the Eagle with a bigtime basket and made free throws to take back the lead and capture the 3rd place win, 42-38. 

The Eagles offense was distributed evenly among the team throughout the tournament. Shannon Steffen led in scoring, combining for 34 points over the weekend. Lyndi Shepard came in close second with 29 points. Steffen and Shepard also received conference awards. Shannon Steffen was named Honorable Mention, and Lyndi Shepard was voted 2nd Team All-Conference. The team was also honored with the Sportsmanship Award for the 2017-18 season.

The Lady Eagles enter their last week of play with the NCCAA DII North Regional Tournament this weekend. The tournament, hosted at Faith Baptist Bible College, opens on Thursday morning. The #5 Lady Eagles are set to take on the #4 Providence University College Thursday night at 6 PM.