Women’s Basketball Season Ends at Conference Tourney

JOPLIN, Missouri—The Faith Eagles women's basketball season came to a close this weekend with a sixth-place finish at the MCCC Tournaments in Joplin, Missouri. One day after defeating Manhattan Christian College for their sixth win of the season, the Eagles fell to the tournament's host school, Ozark Christian College, by the score of 77-64.

On Friday, the Eagles jumped to a 37-26 halftime lead, then survived a second-half comeback against Manhattan Christian for the 67-62 victory. Makenna Laib led all scorers with 19 points, which was also a career-high. She added 16 rebounds and four assists to her stat line as well. Fellow freshman Rachel Kleczka also recorded a double-double with 17 points and 16 rebounds. Faith outrebounded Manhattan 61-31 for the game.

On Saturday, the Eagles played well for nearly three quarters against a good Ozark Christian team. Faith's final lead came at the 7:37 mark in the third quarter before Ozark went on a 24-12 run to end the third quarter with an 11-point lead. Faith was unable to close the gap in the fourth quarter as their season came to a close.

Lyndi Shepard led the Eagles with 19 points in what was likely her final collegiate game. Rachel Kleczka closed out her magnificent freshman season with another double-double, posting 15 points and 17 rebounds. The Eagles finished the season with a record of 6-18; 2-9 in conference play.

Here are some of the highlights of the 2019-20 season for the Lady Eagles:

*Lyndi Shepard led the team in scoring with 14.1 points per game

*Rachel Kleczka led the team in rebounding with 14.7 rebounds per game (school record)

*Rachel Kleczka's 352 rebounds broke the old school record of 316 set in 2008-09

*Alicia Smith led the team in assists with 2.9 per game

*Makenna Laib led the team in steals with 71

*Rachel Kleczka led the team in blocks with 49