Eagles Season Ends in North Region Semifinals
(Ankeny, IA) - Faith women's basketball saw their historic season come to a close at the North Region tournament.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
North Central University
6-21
|
19 | 14 | 18 | 20 | 71 |
|
Faith Baptist Bible College
25-5
|
11 | 8 | 27 | 10 | 56 |
Faith entered the North Region tournament as the #1 seed with high hopes, coming off of an exciting championship run in the MCCC tournament. The Eagles were set to face #4 North Central, who had earned their spot in the semifinals after defeating #5 Trinity 68-56.
The Eagles started fast right from tipoff, getting to the free throw line and on the board just four seconds into the game. The teams battled back and forth for the first eight minutes of the quarter coming up tied 11-11 before North Central managed to pull away in the final two minutes and led 19-11 at the end of the first. Faith struggled through the second quarter and the Rams all but put the game away as they took a 14 point lead, and all the momentum into halftime.
Coming out of halftime, the Rams continued to build their lead to as many as 28 points, but the Eagles would not go down without a fight. In the final 3:46, Faith would go on a 21-3 run, forcing 8 turnovers and only allowing the Rams to reach the other side of the court twice. Mikayla Jones scored 17 of her 20 total points in that stretch, bringing the Eagles all the way back into the game as they entered the 4th quarter trailing by five points.
The Eagles managed to keep it at a 1-2 possession game for the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, but North Central was able to finally pull away and put the game out of reach, and winning 71-56.
Seniors led the way for the Eagles as Mikayla Jones scored 20 points while adding 5 assists and 3 steals, and Whitney Wacker followed with 12 points and 5 rebounds.
On Tuesday, several Eagles were honored with All-Region awards:
Zak Kirkman: North Region Coach of the Year
Katie Costello: 1st Team All-Region and North Region Player of the Year
Mikayla Jones: 1st Team All-Region
Miriam Beenken: 2nd Team All-Region
Whitney Wacker: All-Region Honorable Mention
Team Stats
North Central University
| Game Statistics | North Central University | Faith Baptist Bible College |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (22-49) | (16-64) |
| Field Goal % | 44.9% | 25.0% |
| Rebounds | 36 | 33 |
| Assists | 19 | 12 |
| Turnovers | 23 | 19 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 14 | 28 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 6 | 4 |
| Pts in the Paint | 20 | 16 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 2 | 2 |
| Bench Pts | 16 | 10 |
