Moundbuilders Fend off Late Surge from Eagles

WINFIELD, Kan. – After the first quarter finished tied, Southwestern (4-14, 1-11 KCAC) moved slightly in front in the second quarter and steadily built upon its lead, holding off a late surge from Avila (2-16, 2-10) before pulling away for a 61-49 victory in the final minutes on Saturday afternoon in Winfield.

The final margin was 12 points, but in reality the game was much closer than that until the last few minutes of action. Neither team shot particularly well from the field in the game, but both teams were excellent from the foul line, where Southwestern had twice the attempts that Avila had – and the Moundbuilders made those attempts count in the fourth quarter, making their final seven free throws as a team to ultimately provide the final margin.

The Avila offense got out to a hot start Saturday, thanks largely to Hannah Smith, who made three of her first four shots to give Avila a 7-2 lead less than two minutes in. Southwestern was able to settle in after a poor start and take a lead before Avila evened the score at 10-10 after 10 minutes after a late bucket from Emily Baldwin and a last second free throw from Kayla Navy.

Baldwin set up Cecelia Eddy for a layup early in the second to put Avila back in front 12-11, but then Southwestern scored the next nine points of the game to seize control. Back to back buckets from Smith and Baldwin got Avila back within one in the second quarter and the Eagles were never truly out of the game by any means, but the Moundbuilders seemed to always manage to stay one or two possessions ahead on the scoreboard.

SC finally stretched its lead into double figures in the third quarter and took a 43-35 lead heading into the final frame. Sensing the significance of this game in the only regular season meeting between these two squads this season, Avila made one final push in the fourth quarter: trailing by eight a little less than halfway into the period, Eireon Adams connected from in close and hit two free throws around a deep ball from Baldwin, bringing Avila all the way back to within 49-48 with four minutes to go.

But the Eagles could get no closer. Southwestern hit its free throws over the final two minutes and Avila couldn't generate enough offense to answer, allowing the Builders to pull away for a deceptive 61-49 victory.

D'Shonda Hunt and Macey Pond tied for the game high with 18 points each for Southwestern, though a combined 17 of their 36 points came from the foul line. Smith's hot start helped her score a team-high 14, with Baldwin adding in 13 and Adams scoring 10 off the bench in her best game as an Eagle. Kaytee Frasher recorded a game-high nine rebounds.

Up next, Avila women's basketball returns to the road to face the McPherson Bulldogs this Wednesday, January 18. Tipoff for the women's game is currently scheduled for 6 PM with the men's game to follow at 8; as always, you can watch all the action on the KCAC Network, and get game updates live on Twitter.