Comeback efforts fall short in Pride's 82-72 Heart Championship loss to No. 1 Central Methodist

Comeback efforts fall short in Pride's 82-72 Heart Championship loss to No. 1 Central Methodist
Box Score
February 27, 2023

FAYETTE, Mo. - Hoping the third time would be the charm at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament Championship, the Clarke University women's basketball team fell to No. 1 Central Methodist 82-72 on Monday night.

The Pride had the start that they wanted, jumping out to a 7-2 lead on an Emma Kelchen three pointer forcing a CMU timeout early at the 8:29 mark but the Ealges withstood that shot and eventually tied the score at 11-11 on a Jaicia Canady three pointer.

Central Methodist would regain control and even push their lead to six points with just over a minute remaining in the first before Clarke would storm back to cut it to a 24-22 first quarter lead for CMU after an Izzie Peterson made layup and the foul.

A second quarter advantage for CMU would be capped up right before the halftime buzzer as Daryna Bachkarova nailed a three to make a five-point game at 40-35 to an eight-point game at 43-35 at the halftime break.

The Eagles would hit the first basket of the second half to make it a 10-point game and would hover around that lead until another Kelchen three pointer sparked a little CU run as they would cut it to 54-50 before Central Methodist ended the quarter up 58-52. 

A three-point play through a foul from Tina Ubl cut the CMU lead to one possession at 58-55 but as 12-0 run from the Eagles would essentially win them the Heart Championship as they pulled ahead to 70-55 but Clarke never quit to cut their Central Methodist lead to as low as eight but clutch free throw shooting kept the Eagles in the lead and with the trophy.

The game's leading scorer was Clarke's Tina Ubl, who scored 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field while grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out a pair of assists. Both Kelchen and Giana Michels finished in double figures with 14 and 11 respectively while Nicole McDermott had nine points, Skylar Culbertson added seven points and 11 rebounds, and Izzie Peterson also added seven points on 3-of-6 shooting off the bench.

All five of CMU starters finished in double figures led by Bachkarova's 18 points as Heart Player of the Year Leianya Massenat added 17, Canaday had 15, Leah Johnson added 14, and Zutorya Cook had 13.

Clarke will continue on in the postseason, transitioning to the NAIA Tournament starting on Mar. 7 as the Pride will host the first and second round in Dubuque, Iowa at the Kehl Center as the full field and seeding will be announced this Thursday at 6:00 p.m. CT in the NAIA's YouTube page.