The Central Methodist University women's basketball team had a 10-point lead midway through the second half, but allowed Graceland University to rally for a 55-49 win over the Lady Eagles Saturday afternoon in Heart of America Athletic Conference action.
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In the first half, the teams traded leads, with Central Methodist building its lead to as many as nine points at 28-19 after a basket by sophomore Kristin Willer (Fulton, Mo.) with just less than four minutes left in the period. Graceland rallied with the final six points of the half to close to within 28-25 at halftime. In the second half, CMU extended its lead to as many as 10 at 32-42 with 10:36 remaining in the game. Graceland outscored the Lady Eagles 23-7 in the remainder of the game, including a 10-1 run in the final three minutes, to rally for the six-point win.
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Central Methodist out-played Graceland in many statistical categories, but was severely hampered by 28 turnovers, which led to 37 points for the Yellowjackets. The Lady Eagles finished 20-of-49 from the field in the game for 40.8 percent, while Graceland shot 33.3 percent from the field on 22-of-66 shooting. CMU was 5-of-14 from three-point range, while the Yellowjackets were 4-of-14. Graceland finished with a 39-37 edge in rebounding, including 14 offensive rebounds, which led to 11 second-chance points.
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Junior Sami Dunger (Wildwood, Mo.) scored 11 points to lead CMU, while also tallying four assists. Willer equaled her career-high with her second straight game of 10 points. Junior Alexa Fox (Columbia, Mo.) pulled down a team-high six rebounds, while also scoring five points.
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CMU dropped to 2-10 overall and 1-3 in the HAAC with the loss, while Graceland improved to 6-6 and 1-3. The Lady Eagles will have three weeks off before playing in the Tabor Tournament Dec. 31-Jan. 1 in Hillsboro, Kan.