Ladies Fall in Regional Quarterfinals

ANKENY, Iowa—The Faith Eagles women's basketball team had the home court advantage in the North Region of the NCCAA Division II tournament this week, but were unable to keep the North Region's Player of the Year in check in a 69-49 loss.

Kia Gelinas was named the region's Player of the Year immediately following the game in a presentation at midcourt. Faith had three players named to the All-Region team: Sarah Iler (Honorable Mention), Makenna Laib (Third Team), and Rachel Kleczka (Second Team). Gelinas was nearly unstoppable in the win over Faith, scoring 28 points, drilling three of her four three-point attempts, and grabbing 16 rebounds.

Faith fell in a quick 5-0 hole to start the game and never led throughout, shooting just 32% and going 2-11 from three-point distance. Their free throw shooting didn't help close the gap any better, with a dismal 7-20 from behind the line swamping a comeback. The turnover bug plagued the Eagles as well with 27 team turnovers, which was a persistent problem all season long. Makenna Laib rallied on her teammates with a 14-point effort, and Rachel Kleczka did her part with 12 rebounds. Mary Yarnell demonstrated a promising set of skills in her second start for the Eagles, scoring 10 points on an almost perfect 5-6 FG.

With the loss, the Eagles finished their season with a record of 6 wins and 16 losses, but look to return with most of their young core next year. Alicia Smith stands alone as the only senior leaving the team, leaving the Eagles with a wide pool of fresh talent to select from for the future.