Women’s Basketball Sets Record for Most Wins Since 2000

By Jon Crossman 

ANKENY, Iowa — Regardless of what happens in the regional tournament this week, the Faith Eagles women's basketball team has already left its mark as the school's winningest team of this century. With a dominant 69-54 win over Ecclesia in the final game of the regular season, the Eagles pushed their record to 17-12, the most program wins since the 1998-99 team which finished 18-5.

Leave it to the tenacious Eagles team to get their groove back when it matters most, snapping a three-game losing streak with poise and getting into the perfect competitive mindset a week before the regional tournament begins.

Everyone pitched in for the win. Mikayla Jones was a handful for the Ecclesia defense all night, heating up with 19 points in the first half and finishing out with 28 total. Rachel Kleczka took over with a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds, following her trend of a balanced scoring and rebounding approach. Kayla Stephens had 10 of her own points, and led the team with 5 steals.

The Eagles fell behind 15-9 before Faith started cooking on offense. The Eagles commandeered the lead back with an eight point run late in the second quarter, building a sizable 42-25 lead heading into the locker room.

The second half proved to be more of a stalemate with each side trading buckets down to the last buzzer. Ecclesia couldn't climb out of the wide moat the Eagles had dug around them, taking back just two points in the second half to cut the final difference to a 15-point differential. 

With the win, the Eagles now have just a short amount of time to put the finishing touches on any special plays before the regional tournament begins. Faith takes on Providence at approximately 11:45 a.m. on Thursday, March 2. Stay tuned to the Eagles Athletic web page and all Faith Eagles social media sites for any updates on game details. The tournament will run from Wednesday through Saturday, March 4.