Eagles Fall Prey to Falcons' Strong Comeback

By Jon Crossman

ANKENY, Iowa – Nothing stings more than losing a large lead, unless of course that comeback is also crowned by a buzzer-beater finale. The Eagles came close to such a reality in Thursday's afternoon game against Kansas Christian College, where they coasted with an incredible 22-point lead throughout the game only to have it come crashing down from a staggering display of defensive fundamentals by the Kansas Christian roster. This loss marks the Lady Eagles fifth loss at home for the season and sets them back on the search for consistency in finishing out games on a strong note.

Faith started out of the gate with a standard play, lobbing the tip-off ball to a corner shooter for the quick three-point play to ice the opponent's early confidence. Sarah Iler was hungry after her first shot, downing another three to put the Eagles up 6-0 before the first minute of the game was spent. The offensive momentum was swinging hard in Faith's direction after that, with Iler continuing to pour on the heat with an even bigger 11-0 lead before Kansas answered with a jump shot for their first points of the game. The Eagles improvement on their passing plays made for a dominant first half, out-maneuvering the Falcon's layout to put enough shots off the glass for a 20-point lead going into the second half, 45-25.

After breaking the mold of past games and keeping turnovers to a minimum for the first half (11), the Eagles looked like they would keep the key in the ignition and run away with the rest of the game under their already thriving scoring opportunities. However, the pendulum started swinging the other way in favor of the Falcon's offense after a series of auspicious steals and stingy defense, and the Eagles found themselves with a shortened lead going into the final leg of the game, now up by only 13. With the Faith starters exhausted from keeping up with the well-planned rotations off the visiting team bench, defensive efforts became more challenging and shots stopped falling. The Eagles combined for the lowest scoring quarter of the game with just 11 points, a number also equal to the amount of turnovers they committed in the same quarter. The final culmination of the Kansas player's energy came from a three-point jumper by freshman guard Larencea Doles, a drained shot in the final half-minute of the game that sent the Kansas Christian bench into an eruptive cheer of jubilation. A final foul sent the Falcons to the line to seal the game with some bonus free throws, and Faith fans left the gym feeling a little more solemn over the final score of the game, 71-74.

Leaders for the Eagles were Sarah Iler, whose impressive 48% FG contributed 29 points to the team's efforts. Rachel Kleczka cleaned up in the post with 3 blocks and 8 rebounds, and Mary Yarnell chipped in with her excellent position in the post with 10 points and over half of the teams free throws (4-8 at the line, 7-14 team total).

The Eagles will regroup for another home game against Free Lutheran Bible College on Friday, at 6:00 p.m.