CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa —The (RV) Central Methodist women's basketball used strong second and fourth quarter surges to pull away from Mount Mercy on Saturday afternoon.

The Mustangs held a slight advantage after one stanza, but an 18-9 Eagle run to close the first half gave them a seven-point lead at intermission. a 9-0 run to begin the fourth quarter helped Central Methodist (19-11, 15-9 in Heart) ice an important conference win.

Cheyenne Allen (JR/Long Beach, Calif.) and Tatiana Grant (SR/Milwaukee, Wis.) paced the Eagle offense with 16 points apiece. Allen drained four three-pointers and grabbed seven rebounds, while Grant recorded a game-high 14 rebounds to go along with four steals.

Shannon Mitchell (SR/Seligman, Mo.) shot an efficient 5-of-7 from the field, scoring 13 points and picking up seven rebounds. Lajanea Kimbrough (SR/Indianapolis, Ind.) scored 11 points to go along with six rebounds.

From the field, the Eagles shot 34% and made nine three-pointers. At the free-throw line, Central Methodist struggled, shooting only 55%. Despite the offensive struggles on the stat sheet, the Eagles forced 24 turnovers on defense, grabbing 13 steals and eight blocks.

With the victory, the Eagles clinched the No. 3 seed in the 2019 Heart of America Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship, set to begin on Monday, Feb. 25 with opening round games. Central Methodist earned a first-round bye and will host No. 6 seed Benedictine (18-12, 13-11 in Heart) on Wednesday, Feb. 27.

Stay tuned to cmueagles.com for updates.