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OLATHE, Kan. - No. 15 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) overcame a 10-point first half deficit to defeat No. 20 Central Methodist, 80-72, in the Heart of America Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Game of the Week inside Bell Family Arena.

Kelsey and Megan Balcom contributed 17 points for the Pioneers (21-3, 13-2 HAAC), who won their fourth-straight game to remain one game behind league-leading Baker. They combined to shoot 12 of 21 (.571) from the field and made all nine of their free throw attempts to go along with eight assists and four assists.
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The Pioneers trailed by three points at the half after Central Methodist (19-7, 10-6 HAAC) shot 48.1 percent from the field and converted 14 of 16 free throws. A 10-0 run over 2:13 came after the eighth tie of the first half that included bookend three-pointers by Nakia Robinson and Morgan Vetter, respectively.
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Central Methodist led by four at the 15:56 mark of the second half before MNU turned the game around for good with a 9-0 run. Kyleesha Weston provided the spark for the Pioneers, scoring seven of the nine points to give her team a 56-51 lead.
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That stretch proved to be the turning point of the game for the Pioneers, who never led by less than four points the rest of the way and stretched the advantage to nine after two free throws by Weston with 2:36 to play.
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Turnovers were the key in the second half for the Pioneers, who forced 12 of the Eagles' 20 miscues after halftime and finished with 24 points off of those takeaways. Central Methodist made 23 of 29 free throws and shot 50.0 percent in the second half, but MNU matched that field goal clip after intermission with five additional buckets.
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Weston finished with 14 points and seven rebounds for MNU while Navia Palu added nine points. Morgan Vetter led the way for the Eagles with 18 points, hitting four of five from three-point range, while Robinson added 16 points, five rebounds and five assists. Kyra Williams also had 16 points for CMU with Sammie Jo Copeland pouring in 10 points.