Eagles Survive Late Providence Rally to Advance to Regional Semifinal

DUBUQUE, Iowa—The Faith Eagles rallied from a three-point halftime deficit, and then held on for dear life as Providence University College made a rally of their own in a nail-biting 71-68 win in the North Region quarterfinals.

Faith survived 21 first half turnovers—a stat that would have doomed most teams—by consistently getting to the free throw line to keep the game within reach in the early going. For the game, the Eagles went to the line 39 times, connecting on 24 of their attempts. Mikayla Jones had 11 first half points to keep Faith within striking distance.

The third quarter was all Eagles as they outscored Providence 23-10 to take a 10 point lead into the fourth quarter.

That's when things got crazy.

With 8:48 to play, Providence hit one of their 10 three-point baskets in the game to kick start the Pilots' offense. Providence attempted an incredible 50 three pointers in 40 minutes of action. The Eagles failed to score a point over the next three and a half minutes allowing Providence to go on a 13-0 run. Faith's ten-point lead evaporated into a three-point deficit in a flash.

When the going got tough, the Eagles' conference MVP got going. Mikayla Jones put the team on her back scoring the next six consecutive points to give Faith the lead back which they would never relinquish. Providence had one final heave at the buzzer, but their 50^th three-point try of the night was off the mark and the Eagles survived and advanced. Jones finished as the game-high scorer with 29 points, making 10 of her 11 free throws. The frontcourt was spectacular for the Eagles as well with Rachel Kleczka (12 points and 13 rebounds), Mary Yarnell (8 points, 10 rebounds), and Tina Harms (8 points, 9 rebounds) making a major impact on the outcome of the game. Kayla Stephens (7 points, 7 rebounds), Whitney Wacker (5 points, 4 rebounds), and Belle Wirges (2 points, 2 rebounds) rounded out the scoring for the Eagles.

With the win, the Eagles improved to 18-12 overall. They avenged their loss earlier this season to Providence and face the winner of #1 seed North Central and #9 seed Maranatha on Friday at 1 p.m.