Turnover Trouble Dooms Eagles in Road Loss

By Jon Crossman

MOBERLY, Missouri – The Eagles' hopes of building up a winning rhythm were dashed in Monday's away game, losing a high-scoring ball game to the Saints of Central Christian, 100-65.

Both teams came out blazing hot to start the game, with Makenna Laib draining the first of her four three-pointers with the first shot of the game, and Central's Lauren Mills answering in the same fashion just seconds later. Several fouls in the paint allowed Central Christian to take advantage of their near-flawless shooting, shooting 83.3% from the free-throw line to power to a 10-point lead after the first quarter. The Dynamic Duo in scoring of Rachel Kleczka and Makenna Laib came up big in the second quarter to keep the lead as tight as possible, combining off each passes inside the key and Laib's dependable shooting to score 13 of the teams 18 points in the second. The Eagles ended the half with some respectable ground to cover, trailing by 20.

With the majority of the game's turnovers behind them (22 of its 31 turnovers were in the first half), Faith began a more guarded approach on offense in the second, aiming for less low-percentage shots from behind the arc and opting to find the open driving lanes. This strategy worked well for the first five minutes, before Central countered with a crippling two-man press on almost every play, pressuring Faith's ball-handlers and shooters into mistakes and leading to a 23.5% FG at the end of the 3^rd quarter. With not enough shots falling to cut down the lead, the Eagles went into the final stretch with a 33-point deficit.

The final quarter proved to be the best quarter on defense for Faith, forcing Central's offense into their lowest scoring quarter of the game (21) and committing only one turnover for the entire quarter. Mary Yarnell also rallied from off the bench, bringing down 4 rebounds and scoring a couple buckets in the last minutes of the game. The Eagles finished strong, having their highest-scoring quarter (19) to close out the game.

Makenna Laib led the Eagles in several areas, with the most points in the game (27) and steals (2), as well as an impressive 4-7 on her three-pointers. Rachel Kleczka followed close behind with 16 points and a monster 16 rebounds, reflecting her physical dominance in the paint.

The Eagles return home to play in the Faith Christmas Classic on the 11^th against Trinity Bible College, starting at 8:00 p.m.