Eagles Grounded by Pilots

ANKENY, Iowa—The Faith Eagles women's basketball team is still looking for its first chance to soar this season as the Providence Pilots kept them grounded for the fourth consecutive game in a 78-37 loss on the first day of the Faith Classic Basketball Tournament.

Ball handling and poor shooting continued to plague the Eagles as Providence forced Faith into 41 turnovers which led to 37 points for the Pilots. Faith shot just 22% from the floor and was 3-of-28 from three-point distance.

The Eagles fell into a 14-1 deficit before an Alicia Smith jumper made it 14-3 at the end of the first quarter. Amanda Wenszell gave the team a lift early in the second quarter with a pair of three-pointers that cut the lead to 15-9, but the Eagles would manage only one additional basket in the half as Providence built its lead to 32-12 at the break.

The third quarter was all Providence, as they outscored Faith 26-9. Bekah Smith and Michaela Crider gave the Eagles some life in the fourth quarter, combining for 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting to give Faith some momentum heading into the final day of the tournament on Saturday.

Faith had just one player who scored in double figures: Michaela Crider with 10 points. Amanda Wenszell had her best game of the season with 8 points, and Bekah Smith had a nice all-around game with 7 points and 8 rebounds.

The Eagles play Saturday at 2:00 p.m. against Trinity Bible College.