January 13, 2022

Eagles Tangled Up By Lincoln Christian

Lincoln Christian University

1-8

Faith Baptist Bible College

1-5

Final

Lincoln Christian University 1-8

Faith Baptist Bible College 1-5

By Jon Crossman

ANKENY, Iowa – The women's basketball team was met with a hard-fought loss at home on Tuesday, resulting in their sixth loss in a row in what has become an exceedingly difficult patch for the determined Eagles. The 61-34 defeat came at the hands of the Lincoln Lions, whose trapping defense gave the Eagles fits. Faith's 34-point game and 31 turnovers illustrates the upward struggle offensively, clocking in as the lowest scoring game of the Eagles so far this season.

The Eagles couldn't seem to get the lid off the basket at any point, shooting 20% against the tough Lincoln defense and scoring almost half their points (14) from directly under the rim. A bright spot for the Eagles over the past few games has been starting center Rachel Kleczka, whose understanding of defense in the post has been vital to generating fast break plays on the other end. Kleczka dominated with 16 rebounds. Lincoln changed their tactics in the second half to adapt to the defensive presence in the paint, lighting up for a few three-pointers and midrange shots to soar to their largest lead of the game. Even with improved shooting by the Eagles early in the second half, the Lions managed to stay on top with an onslaught of 21 steals for the game to keep it out of reach.

In addition to the big game from Kleczka, Makenna Laib scored 14 points, including a near-perfect 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Mary Yarnell came off the bench to fire up the team with one of the few three-pointers in the game, and freshman Whitney Wacker impressed with 6 rebounds of her own in just 8 total minutes on the court.

The Eagles enter into a grueling six-game campaign on the road before finally returning to play at home late in January. Their next game is on January 14 against the Calvary Warriors, starting at 4:00 p.m.