Pride defend home court with well-rounded 87-64 win over Central Methodist

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Having entered Saturday without a win on their home floor since Nov. 6, the Clarke University women's basketball team played their best game of the season so far on the way to a 87-64 victory over Central Methodist University in the Kehl Center on Saturday.

The Pride were able to jump out to an early lead behind an 11-3 run over the opening four minutes of the game that would end up extending to an 18-6 advantage over the first 5:30 of the game to lead 26-19 by the end of the first quarter.

The Eagles were able to hang within striking distance thanks to a 5-for-6 (83.3%) performance from three point range in the opening 10 minutes of the game where they would hit two of their first three attempts from deep to cut the CU lead down to just five points both times at 30-25 and 36-31, the closest of the game since the first three minutes of the game.

After starting 7-for-9 (77.8%) from three point range, CMU would go on to finish 3-for-15 (20%) over the final 24:44 of the game as that combined with their 22 turnovers for the game allowed Clarke to pull away through as the game continued, as CU turned those 22 turnovers into 29 points off of turnovers for the game.

Clarke used their size to outrebound the Eagles 42-35, producing 13 second chance points off of 11 offensive boards, outscore CMU 40-18 in the paint, and block eight shots on the day, the most blocked shots by any Pride women's basketball team since Feb. 21, 2024 when they blocked nine shots at William Penn University.

All five of the Pride starters finished in double figures for the first time this season led by a pair of career-high performances, first a career-high tying 23 points from Hailey Walters, who went 5-for-10 (50%) from three to lead all scorers in the game, then 22 points in a career-high performance from Camdyn Kay as the sophomore Dubuque native added seven rebounds, three steals, and two assists.

Clarke's three other starters stuffed the statsheet across many different stats as Josie Potts scored 13 points while grabbing seven rebounds, dishing out a career-high six assists, and finishing with a steal, Reese Ryan finished with 11 points, six rebounds, two assists, and career-highs with five steals and five blocked shots, then Zoe Kennedy had 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocked shots as she finished with just two makes from the field on seven attempts, the fewest makes and attempts from the field for the 2024-25 All-Heart First Team selection in a Clarke win in her two seasons at CU.

Kennedy led a strong effort for Clarke at the free throw line, going a perfect 12-for-12 on the day with the Pride finishing 28-for-33 (84.8%) from the charity stripe, their most makes and attempts on the season, the best percentage with double digit attempts on the season, and the best free throw shooting performance with over 20 attempts for CU women's basketball since Nov. 13, 2024 in a home win against Baker University last season.

Pride women's basketball will play one more game before their Christmas break when they hit the road for a non-conference game at University of St. Francis next Wednesday, Jan. 17 in Joliet, Ill. for a 5:00 p.m. CT scheduled tip against the Saints.