Game 9
Evangel vs. Graceland
Dec. 9, 2 p.m.
Ashcroft Center
Springfield, Mo.
Go to the basketball broadcast page
Evangel’s women need a win - bad. After losing, 74-41, at MidAmerica Nazarene on Dec. 7, the EU ladies are now on a four-game losing skid. They have an overall record of 1-7 and are 1-3 versus Heart of America Athletic Conference opponents. The Lady Crusaders’ only win to date was a 58-55 home victory against Central Methodist on Nov. 18.
EU’s ability to come up with a win will be put to the test against the Graceland Yellowjackets at home on Saturday, Dec. 9. Graceland brings a 7-2 overall mark and 3-1 conference record into the 2 p.m. game.
For the first ten minutes of the Lady Crusaders’ game at MidAmerica Nazarene on Dec. 7, it looked like Evangel would give the No. 5-ranked Lady Pioneers all they could handle. EU led 10-6 midway through the first half, but a scoring drought over the last nine minutes left Evangel with a 16-point deficit at the half, 32-16. EU’s scoring problems continued in the second half, as MNU outscored the Evangel women 42-25 to win, 74-41. Brianna Mingus came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points. She was the lone Lady Crusader in double figures. Rachel Damanskis, Heidi Kalsbeck and Kristin Metzger each had five rebounds for EU. MidAmerica Nazarene’s Jenna Matson dominated play with a double-double. She scored 30 points and brought down 13 rebounds. Matson made 12 of 17 field goals and nailed all six of her free throw attempts. MNU made 48.3 percent of its field goals to EU’s 24.6 percent and had a better free throw percentage, 75.0 (15-20) to Evangel’s 61.5 (8-13). With their inside game working, MNU only took seven 3-point shots and made one. EU, meanwhile, attempted 18 treys and made 5 (.278). MNU also had more rebounds, 46-34, and fewer turnovers, 15-22. Forty-four of MNU’s 74 points were scored in the paint (10 for EU) and 29 were scored off turnovers (7 for EU).
Graceland brings a 7-2 overall record into the game. The Yellowjackets are 3-1 versus Heart of America Athletic Conference opponents. The GU women began the season with five straight wins and have split their last four games. Graceland’s league wins were against Culver-Stockton (76-68, home), Central Methodist (80-70, away), and Baker (75-69, home). The lone conference loss was to Missouri Valley by two points (75-73, home). GU’s other loss was by an eight-point margin (70-62) at home to Waldorf College. ( Iowa). Two of Graceland’s early wins came against Johnson & Wales University in Denver (114-47 on Nov. 10, 107-36 on Nov. 11). The games were played at Denver’s Manual High School gym (2,400 capacity), a facility that hosts several of the area’s featured basketball games.
The Yellowjackets’ most recent game resulted in a 75-69 victory at home on Dec. 5 in Lamoni, Iowa, against conference foe Baker. Ieshia Randall (18 points), Michelle McCrady (17), Kristin Osborn (15), and Paris Williams (12) all scored in double figures for Graceland. Jenna Butler accounted for 17 rebounds and Randall dished out six assists.
Evangel leads the series, 37-3, and has won the last 27 meetings between the two schools. Graceland’s last win against Evangel was on Feb. 18, 1993 in Springfield (69-60). Graceland’s other two wins were on Feb. 1, 1990 in Lamoni, Iowa (58-53) and on Feb. 11, 1989 in Springfield (64-54).
At home, EU has a 19-2 series lead and has won the last 14 games. Last season, Evangel defeated Graceland 67-41 in Lamoni on Jan. 14, 2006 and 74-55 in Springfield on Feb. 18, 2006.
Starting center Amy Szczepanik suffered a concusion in Evangel’s home game against Benedictine on Dec. 2. She missed the MidAmerica Nazarene game and is listed as probable for the Graceland game.
Evangel is led by Leon Neal (Evangel, 1989). Neal has a 284-131 record in 13 years at Evangel.
Opie Butler (Graceland, 1993) is Graceland’s head coach. Butler is in his third season at Graceland and has a 34-40 record.
| Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Jewell | 10-2 |
| 2 | MidAmerica Nazarene | 10-1 |
| 3 | Avila | 8-3 |
| 4 | Graceland | 7-2 |
| 5 | Benedictine | 8-3 |
| 6 | Lindenwood | 3-5 |
| Missouri Valley | 3-5 | |
| 8 | Evangel | 1-7 |
| 9 | Baker | 6-5 |
| 10 | Central Methodist | 2-7 |
| 11 | Culver-Stockton | 3-8 |
Four EU players, including three freshmen, established new season-highs at MidAmerica Nazarene on Dec. 7.
Evangel will play an exhibition game at Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg on Dec. 12 before heading to Florida for two games.
On Dec. 19, the Lady Crusaders will play at Northwood University in West Palm Beach, Fla. Two days later, on Dec. 21, the EU ladies will play at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla.