Eagles Fall to Coyotes in Salina

SALINA, Kan. – Avila could not keep pace with Kansas Wesleyan in Salina on Saturday night, especially on the interior, and the Coyotes (14-8, 12-4 KCAC) ultimately pulled away for a 69-44 victory over the Eagles (4-19, 4-13 KCAC) at home.

Neither team shot the ball well in the first half Saturday, and neither team hit a ton of three-pointers at any point in the game, but KWU got things in gear in the second half to make any Eagle comeback bid impossible. The Eagles did well to keep their turnovers in check, but the Coyotes were superior in other secondary aspects of the contests to control the game.

Kansas Wesleyan led for the entire contest but Avila stayed firmly within striking distance for the entire first half, the Eagle defense keeping the Coyotes in check consistently, especially from beyond the arc. Avila punched back in the first half multiple times, especially courtesy of Hannah Smith, who continued her hot first-quarter shooting this season by scoring to balance out multiple mini KWU runs.

Avila trailed by nine after the opening 10 minutes but the Eagles kept it close consistently courtesy of Smith and Emily Baldwin. Back to back buckets from Caila Hill finally gave Kansas Wesleyan a double-digit lead and even though Eireon Adams scored a bucket in the final minutes and set up Grace Effertz for another, Hill and the Coyotes started to gain steam, taking a 34-20 lead into the intermission.

Avila snapped an early KWU surge in the third quarter with five straight points from Baldwin and London Foster, but Kansas Wesleyan put it back together down the stretch of the third quarter, scoring a total of 25 points to widen the gap. Avila kept things even, 10-10, in the final period, but the Coyotes were more than able to wrap up a 69-44 win.

With neither team successful from deep in the game, post scoring was a huge difference in the game. Caila Hill led all players with 16 points along with nine rebounds, while Tylieea Wallace scored 15 with seven off the bench. Baldwin led the Eagles with 13 points, her third straight game in double figures. Baldwin is averaging just south of 10 points per game since the new year began.

Up next, Avila women's basketball will get a bit of a break with their second half KCAC bye before competition resumes next Saturday, February 4 with a road contest against Oklahoma Wesleyan. The women's contest begins at 2 PM with the men to follow at 4; as always, you can watch all the action on the KCAC Network.