Posted: Jan 12, 2016
Lady Eagles Defeat #4 Grace Bible College
Grace Christian University
(0-1)
72
Emmaus Bible College
(1-0)
73
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Grace Christian University (0-1) | 14 | 19 | 14 | 16 | 9 | 72 |
|
Emmaus Bible College (1-0) | 7 | 20 | 17 | 19 | 10 | 73 |
On Thursday, January 7, our Emmaus Lady Eagles took the court against the Grace Bible College Tigers. This was the Lady Eagles first game back from the long holiday break. The game was one that was full of shaking off the rust of not playing competitively in weeks. In the first quarter, the Lady Eagles only put up a total of 7 points. Thankfully, the ladies were able to quickly get back on track against the fourth ranked team in the NCCAA. During the entire first half, Emmaus was fighting to put themselves in a position to win the game, but the Grace Tigers did not make it easy. The Lady Eagles went into the half down only six points.
The Lady Eagles came out of the locker room ready to play and put together a great third quarter narrowing the Tigers lead to three points. The Grace Tigers had tremendous guard play and the defense by Nakiah Kimble and Sharon Tomlinson were huge to helping keep the game close. With under a minute to go in the game, Nakiah Kimble came up with a giant steal and went down and scored the go ahead layup to put Emmaus up two points with a few seconds to play. The Grace Tigers never gave up and were able to successfully convert on a final second basket to send this thriller into overtime.
Overtime did not disappoint. With much heart, the Lady Eagles kept fighting and with under ten seconds to play, freshman Ali Howard hit a mid-range jumper to put the Eagles up by one point. The Grace Tigers had one last chance to win the game and ended up at the free throw line where two crucial free throws were missed. The rebound was secured by the Lady Eagle's, who ran out the remaining time. The Lady Eagles were elated with joy following this victory over the fourth ranked team in the nation. This was truly a game where the Lady Eagles 50 rebounds and 70% free throw shooting were invaluable in helping the Eagles slip past the Grace Tigers.
"This is a huge step for our program and I am proud of these girls. We showed that we could fight through adversity, not shoot the ball very well, and still by sheer will pull out a victory," said Coach Graw.
Shelby Hembera led with 22 points, 18 rebounds, and 6 assists followed by Madison Laib with 23 points and 8 rebounds.
