Eagles Bottled up by Spires

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Avila saw Saint Mary get off to a hot start, and the Eagle (2-11, 2-6 KCAC) offense was never able to get in gear, allowing the Spires (7-5, 4-4 KCAC) to coast to a 71-35 victory inside Mabee Fieldhouse on Tuesday night.

It was by no means a perfect game for Saint Mary: the Spires committed a lot of fouls and turned the ball over plenty, but in the end Saint Mary's offense was much more clinical than Avila's. Saint Mary shot 20 percentage points better than Avila did, and the Eagles made only one three-pointer in the game. The Spires scored the game's first points and never looked back in a wire-to-wire win.

The Eagles struggled out of the gates early before Cecelia Eddy finally got the home team on the board halfway through the first quarter with a close range bucket following a Kaytee Frasher offensive rebound. Hannah Smith later made a jumper to get the Eagles within 10 points, but those were the only shots that fell in the first quarter as USM built a 21-4 lead.

The Eagles were much sharper in all phases in the second quarter, allowing the Spires to extend their lead by only three points going into the halftime break. Daisy Washington scored five points, and Avila outrebounded Saint Mary and committed fewer turnovers than Saint Mary in that second quarter.

But the Eagle offense went quiet again in the third quarter, managing only six points as the Spires continued to pull away. Avila was solid again in the fourth quarter, anchored by five points in short order from Kayla Navy, but it mattered little to the final result in what became a 71-35 road victory for Saint Mary.

It was a balanced effort from the visitors, with a number of players turning in solid performances. Veteran Jerrica Johnson led all players with 13 points and Paige Pendley, the reigning KCAC Offensive Player of the Week, added 11, though the Eagles were largely able to limit her effectiveness, thanks largely to some early foul trouble. Smith led the Eagles with eight points; both Washington and Navy scored seven; Frasher and Eddy combined for 14 rebounds.

Up next, Avila women's basketball will have a brief break for Christmas before the Eagles return to the floor at Mabee Fieldhouse to help ring in 2023 by welcoming Briar Cliff to Kansas City on New Year's Eve, December 31. Tipoff is set for 1 PM; as always, you can watch all the action live on the Avila Sports Network.