After shooting 52 percent from the field in the first half, the Central Methodist University women's basketball team cooled off to 34.6 percent shooting in the second half as Benedictine College held on for a 69-62 win over the Lady Eagles Saturday afternoon.
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The two teams played back and forth throughout the game. Benedictine jumped out to a 13-5 lead with 13:41 left in the first half, but CMU rallied to take the lead at 16-15 after a three-pointer by junior Sami Dunger (Wildwood, Mo.) with 7:42 left in the half. The Lady Ravens regained a five-point lead with 5:56 left in the half before CMU rallied to take a 30-28 lead into halftime.
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The score was tied four different times in the second half, but CMU was never able to regain its lead. Benedictine eventually stretched its lead to as many as eight points with seven minutes left in the game. Central Methodist got back to within three points after a pair of free throws by freshman Nakia Robinson (St. Louis, Mo.) with 5:32 remaining. Benedictine scored nine of its final 14 points at the free-throw line to hang on for the seven-point win.
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Central Methodist shot 43.1 percent from the field in the game, including 6-of-12 from three-point range. Benedictine finished with 40.7 percent shooting from the field, and 5-of-15 from beyond the arc. Benedictine out-rebounded CMU 37-31, including 21 offensive rebounds that led to 25 second-chance points for the Ravens.�
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Dunger led CMU with 19 points, including 3-of-4 from three-point range. Senior Nakia Robinson (St. Louis, Mo.) scored 12 points and had a team-high eight rebounds, while Robinson added 11 points.
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CMU dropped to 3-15 overall and 1-7 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference with the loss, while Benedictine improved to 10-6 overall and 3-3 in the HAAC. The Lady Eagles will return to action at MidAmerica Nazarene University Tuesday in a makeup game for the contest that was postponed Monday. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Olathe, Kan.