Box Score
Highlights |
Coach Lewis' Thoughts | The Pioneers dominated the first half on tuesday en route to their second straight conference tourney title, their 30th win of the season, and 20th victory in a row. Central Methodist handed MNU its only conference loss in December and would've swept the season series without a miracle comeback in Fayette in February. Tuesday's 3rd matchup would decide not only the season series, but the HAAC Conference Tournament.
The first 9 minutes were played evenly as the biggest crowd of the season created a great atmosphere for the title game. With the score tied at 18, the Pioneers went on a 25-6 run to take a 19-point lead.
Megan Balcom and
Kiley Herold dominated the Eagles, each scoring 10 first-half points while Herold added 8 rebounds. MNU took a 17-point lead into the locker room after shooting 49% and holding CMU to 36%.
The beginning of the second half was all CMU. An 8-2 run quickly trimmed the deficit to 11, and a few minutes later an 11-2 run saw the MNU lead shrink to 4 with 10 minutes remaining. But
Megan Balcom nailed a 3,
Kendra Flemming blocked a shot, and
Daria Sprew followed with a 3-point play to get the lead back to double digits, and that's where it stayed until the final minute. CMU managed to get within 6, but the Pioneers made enough free throws down the stretch to hold off the Eagles and claim the title by a 77-71 score.
Megan Balcom led all scorers with 17 points. She also had 4 assists and 3 steals off the bench.
Kelsey Balcom had 13 points and 7 rebounds.
Kendra Flemming had 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks off the bench.
Daria Sprew added 11 points.
Kiley Herold had 10 points, a game-high 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks. And
Navia Palu had 8 points and a game-high 8 assists.
The Pioneers are 30-2 (17-1 HAAC). The next game is the first round of the NAIA Division 1 Women's Basketball National Championship. Pairings will be announced Wednesday evening. Tournament visitor's guide
here.
