Lady Eagles Fall to 1-2 with Loss to Ozark Christian

ANKENY, Iowa—Cold shooting once again plagued the Lady Eagles throughout all four quarters of a 59-41 loss to Ozark Christian on the first night of the Faith Classic in Ankeny. The Eagles were 0 of 18 from three-point distance and shot just 24.6% from the field overall.

Faith shot just 16.1% (5-31; 0-9) from the floor in the first half. Three players finished the half with four points each (Bekah Smith, Michaela Crider, Lyndi Shepard). The Eagles trailed 28-16 after two quarters. Ozark Christian freshman Sarah Dodson single-handedly matched the Eagles' scoring in the first half with 14 points (4 of 6 from three-point distance).  She finished the game with 24 points to lead all scorers.

The Eagles had much better ball movement and looks, offensively, in the third quarter, and shot better percentage-wise at 33% for the quarter. Still, Faith trailed 40-25 after three periods.

Faith scored 17 points in the fourth quarter, their highest output of the game, but gave up 19 on the defensive end. The closest the Eagles got in the fourth quarter was 40-28 at the 9:20 mark.

Michaela Crider led the way in scoring for the Eagles with 14 points. Karina Fritz, Lyndi Shepard, and Alicia Smith each had six. Mackenzie Hanson and Bekah Smith added four each, and Janet Busenitz rounded out the scoring with 2 points. Bekah Smith led the way in rebounding with 10.

The Eagles play their second game of the Faith Classic Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. against Randall University.