Eagles Complete Improbable Comeback Against Calvary

By Jon Crossman and Andrew Gogerty

KANSAS CITY, Missouri - The storylines for Faith's thrilling overtime win at Calvary University on Friday were incredible. Faith Eagles Coach Zak Kirkman returned to face his alma mater for the first time ever as a head coach. Eagles star player Mikayla Jones is a transfer from Calvary. Those ingredients, along with an improbable comeback (down by 16 in the fourth quarter) and a last-second buzzer-beater on a long three-pointer from Mikayla Jones to send the game to overtime, made the 64-58 victory one for the ages.

The score was 48-32 with 6:13 to play in the game. Former Calvary star Mikayla Jones started the rally with a long three-pointer to cut the deficit to 13. Three straight clutch baskets by Tina Harms cut the lead to 50-41 with 3:48 remaining. Harms continued her terrific fourth quarter play with a nice pass underneath to Rachel Kleczka to cut the lead to 50-43—a score that remained the same until 57 seconds were left in the game. A seven-point deficit with under a minute to play is still a mountain to climb for most basketball teams, but Faith showed its resolve.

One of the biggest plays of the game came from Mikayla Jones on a long three-pointer from almost half court with 50 seconds to play, cutting the deficit to four, 50-46. The two teams traded layups over the next 30 seconds before Makenna Laib made one of two free throws to cut the lead to 52-49 with 12 seconds left. Rachel Kleczka made another huge play in the game off of Laib's missed free throw, grabbing the offensive rebound and put back to make the score 52-51 in favor of Calvary with nine seconds to play.

The Eagles fouled and put Calvary at the line where they calmly hit both free throws to take a three point lead with seven seconds remaining. The play that put an exclamation point on the Eagles' victory came with just 7 seconds left in regulation, spurred on by a desperation timeout on the Faith bench with a three point gap to fill. The Eagles had possession just several feet from the defenders three-point arc, with a pass in to Kenna Laib starting the countdown. A heave to tie the game just barely missed the mark, sailing over the rim into the hands of Kayla Stephens just outside the shooting elbow. With no time to strategize, Stephens kicked a pass out to Mikayla Jones, the go-to clutch shooter for the ladies. Jones lined up the golden opportunity with just 1 second left on the clock, burying the biggest shot of her life to secure the overtime tie. The Eagles allowed just 4 points in the ensuing overtime, taking the thrilling victory, 64-58.   

The ecstatic ladies team stayed strong through back-to-back matches, finishing the weekend with a close loss to third-ranked Ozark to end the weekend. In light of the playoff-like hustle the Eagles showed in their win, they also managed to secure a guaranteed spot in the regional tournament with the required six wins. With seven conference opponents to be challenged in the remainder of the season, there is still plenty of playoff preparation basketball to be played. 

The Eagles play their next game against Kansas Christian College, taking to the hardwood of the Nettleton gym for an afternoon tilt. The game starts at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 17.