Emmaus Outduels Eagles on the Road

By Jon Crossman

DUBUQUE, Iowa – The women's basketball team has seen its fair share of frustrations this season, with their struggles on the road standing at the forefront. With a loss Tuesday night to the dually named Emmaus Eagles, Faith now stands at seven losses off the comfort of home court.

Even with the missing results, the Eagles have still been performing well with communication, keeping a great attitude, and improving in different areas each game. The ladies recorded a season low of 16 turnovers in the Tuesday night bout, displaying a renewed passing discipline that vastly outweighed the result of the game. The team showed a new, more aggressive stance on defense, with fast guards like Kenna Laib, Halle Pearson and Sarah Iler all recording a couple steals to convert into well-earned buckets. Faith's defense continued to improve, allowing just five shooting fouls throughout the game, keeping level heads under the basket, and giving up only six points to the Emmaus free-throw shooters.

The Eagles finished out the game with 30% shooting, with four of the successful field goals coming in the form of three-pointers from the regulars Kenna Laib and Sarah Iler. Four out of five starters managed to get six or more rebounds, showing a good sign of hustle in both the back and front court. The Eagles still have some work to do converting their much-improved passing into the needed buckets, a point coach Monty Kauffman has been encouraging all season long with the team.

The ladies return for a four-game breather at home, playing four different conference teams throughout a weeklong stretch of time. Their first game will be against Central Christian College of the Bible on January 28, starting at 6:00 p.m.