Eagles Give #1 North Central All They Can Handle as Season Concludes

By Jon Crossman

DUBUQUE, Iowa—The Faith Eagles fought valiantly against the #1 team in the North Region, the North Central University Rams, exchanging blows for a majority of a 67-51 loss—a score that is deceptive of how close the game was throughout. With the loss, the Eagles' season came to an end, but what a season it was, finishing 18-13, with the most wins since 1998-99.

The Eagles survived a first-half push by the Rams by sticking to the same game plan they have all season, utilizing their strength down low and cutting down all second chance opportunities. They out-rebounded North Central 23-10 in the half, keeping their heads above water thanks to a 13-point and 11-rebound performance from Rachel Kleczka. Things looked up going into the second half, with the Faith ladies only trailing by five, 26-31.

The third quarter started with an eight-point barrage from North Central, a flurry that would cripple the Eagles' defense through the quarter. The Eagles rallied back in the final quarter with an offense to match the Rams, but the spread wasn't quite wide enough to cover the damage already done from a third quarter Rams push. Tina Harms and Mikayla Jones stood out as the sole scorers in the final quarter, dropping six points each for the Eagles. The late game heroics weren't enough to topple the top team, taking one final bow on the season with the loss.

All throughout, the Eagles showed their veteran toughness, keeping up with a top-tier competitor and battling it out down to the final stretch. Faith's larger-than-life center and co-captain Rachel Kleczka led by example with 15 points and 14 total rebounds, holding the line with the one block on the Eagles' stat sheet. Mikayla Jones, the experienced baller and a bright spot in the future for the Eagles, added 16 points and swished the single three-point shot. Tina Harms came up big with 14 points and 8 rebounds, singlehandedly carrying the bench squad for the ladies. The young squad has much to look forward to as they develop, and with achievements like taking second place in the conference's regular season, securing a win in the North Region Tournament, and completing the winningest season since the 1999 season, the team has nowhere to go but up.