Game 1
Evangel vs. College of the Ozarks
Nov. 7, 5:30 p.m.
Ashcroft Center
Springfield, Mo.
Go to the basketball broadcast page
The Lady Crusaders will host area rival College of the Ozarks from Pt. Lookout, Missouri, on Tuesday, Nov. 7, at 5:30 p.m. in Ashcroft Center. The Lady Bobcats of C of O are ranked No. 5 on the NAIA II preseason national poll.
The game is the first of the 2006-07 season for the Evangel Lady Crusaders.
College of the Ozarks is 1-0. The Lady Bobcats opened their 2006-07 season with a convincing 78-57 home win against Missouri Valley College on Nov. 1. College of the Ozarks is ranked No. 5 in the nation on the NAIA II preseason poll.
The Lady Crusaders’ streak of five consecutive NAIA II national tournament appearances came to an end in 2006. The young and relatively inexperienced EU squad finished 2005-06 with a 15-16 overall mark and tied with Baker for fourth place in the Heart of America Athletic Conference standings (12-4). EU took Baker to three overtimes before losing in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament, 84-77.
College of the Ozarks ended its 2005-06 season as the national runner-up to Hastings, losing in the NAIA II championship game, 58-39. The Lady Bobcats won their seventh Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference title and eighth conference postseason tournament. C of O finished with a stellar 33-2 record and was ranked No. 2 in the nation on the final 2005-06 NAIA II poll.
Evangel leads the series with College of the Ozarks, 26-20, however, C of O won both games last year. The Lady Bobcats defeated Evangel 70-62 in Pt. Lookout and 63-45 in Springfield. The Lady Crusaders own a 16-7 series record vs. C of O in Ashcroft Center. After winning six home games in a row against C of O, Evangel has dropped the last two. College of the Ozarks defeated EU 73-69 in 2004-05 and 63-45 in 2005-06 on the Lady Crusaders’ home floor. Prior to these losses, EU hadn’t lost at home to C of O since the 1996-97 season (76-63).
Evangel is led by Leon Neal. Neal has a 283-124 record in 12 years.
George Wilson is College of the Ozarks’ head coach. He is beginning his tenth season.
The Lady Crusaders will host Southern Nazarene University ( Okla.) on Thursday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. in Ashcroft Center. Southern Nazarene is a Division I member of the NAIA and is ranked No. 26 in the nation on the NAIA I preseason poll.
The EU ladies will then take a week off before beginning their Heart of America Athletic Conference schedule with a home game against Central Methodist University on Thursday, Nov. 16. Game time is 5:30 p.m. in Ashcroft Center.
In addition to all of their postseason games, two regular season Lady Crusader basketball games will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio, KGMY 1400 AM. The games are: at MidAmerica Nazarene on Dec. 7 and at College of the Ozarks on Jan. 23.
Several women’s games will be webcast by Evangel University’s 2006-07 Internet broadcast partner,
All In Broadcasting, at www.allinbroadcasting.com. The postgame show will provide a complete recap of each game and it is sponsored by the Assemblies of God Credit Union. Evangel’s Internet partner is Best Western - Deerfield Inn.
Ed Beach, Evangel director of broadcasting and marketing for athletics, will handle the play-by-play duties as the “Voice of the Crusaders” for the fifth season in a row.
Beginning after Dec. 2 of this year, a selected men’s and women’s “game of the week” will be available for viewing about a week after the contest. The Evangel games can be viewed at All In Broadcasting, www.allinbroadcasting.com. All games will be archived up to one month after the season’s end. Fans can access a game for 99 cents for 24 hours or for $2.99 can watch the game unlimited times and download it as well.
All games are a simulcast with the radio coverage on ESPN 1400 AM and the video portion is produced by ECTV (Evangel Cable Television), Evangel’s student television station.