The Central Methodist University women's basketball team tied the game with 1:11 left in the game, but Graceland University made back-to-back baskets to earn a 53-49 win over the Lady Eagles Saturday afternoon.
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The first half was back-and-forth, with the score tied six times. Graceland went on an 11-5 run in the final five minutes of the half to take a 27-22 lead into halftime. Freshman Sammie Gathercole (Springfield, Mo.) scored five straight points to open the second half as CMU tied the score at 27-27 with 17:50 left in the game. The Lady Eagles took a 33-31 lead with 14:06 remaining after a three-pointer by junior Sami Dunger (Wildwood, Mo.). Graceland went on a 9-0 run to take a 40-33 lead with 10:13 left in the game. CMU rallied to within two points before Graceland regained a seven-point lead with 3:28 remaining. Central Methodist scored seven straight points, including five by Dunger, to tie the game at 49-49 with 1:11 left. Graceland scored back-to-back baskets to earn the 53-49 win.
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CMU shot 32.7 percent from the field in the game, including 5-of-17 from three-point range. The Lady Eagles finished 10-of-14 from the free-throw line. Graceland finished with 35.9 percent from the field, including 3-of-15 from beyond the arc. The Yellowjackets were 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. Graceland out-rebounded CMU 43-34 in the game.
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Dunger finished with a team-high 11 points, and in the process became the 14th player in CMU women's basketball history to surpass 1,000 career points. Freshman Nakia Robinson (St. Louis, Mo.) added eight points. Junior Alexa Fox (Columbia, Mo.) and sophomore Kristin Willer (Fulton, Mo.) each pulled down seven rebounds.
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The Lady Eagles dropped to 3-21 on the season and 1-13 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference, while Graceland improved to 10-13 overall and 4-10 in the HAAC. CMU will return to action Feb. 10 in a 5:30 p.m. game at Evangel University.