MARIETTA, Ga. --- After bouncing back from a slow start, the Life University women's basketball team found themselves in a physical, tightly contested game down the stretch, missing on their final shot attempts to lose a heart breaker to Concordia (Mich.) 46-45 Saturday afternoon in the Eagles Nest.
Life U (9-4) narrowly missed out on its fifth-straight victory, but inconsistent shooting--only connecting on 14-for-48 (29.2%) from the floor--put the Running Eagles in a disadvantageous position when compared to the 40% mark Concordia (9-4) hit. Life U did a better job of connecting their offense, assisting on 10 of their 14 made baskets as opposed to the Cardinal's seven, but both teams had issues maintaining possession, the team's combining for 35 turnovers.
The Running Eagles found themselves in a hole early, allowing Concordia to open the game with a 10-0 run. After making some baskets late in the period, Life U exited the first quarter in a double-digit hole, 17-5.
The middle of the game went much better for Life U, the team finally finding its offense while shutting down the Cardinals on the other side. An 8-1 run by the Running Eagles that started midway through the period saw four points from both
Fapou Semebene and
Eva Caroline Singleton pulled the team to within a single score. After a Concordia score, a pair of makes by
Andrea Martin Ruiz at the charity stripe kept the game a single possession at 23-20 going into the break.
A Singleton layup late in the third saw the Running Eagles finally remove the Concordia lead, tying the game at 30-30 with 2:24 left in the quarter. After a free throw gave the team the edge in the following possession, a Singleton three pointer pushed the Life U lead to 34-30 with only the fourth to be played.
Momentum carried the Running Eagles to their largest lead of the game 40-31 with 7:41 on the clock after another Singleton deep ball assisted by
Sienna Bailey. Concordia pushed to get back into the game, turning up the level of physicality, while Life U started to make uncharacteristic mistakes. A pair of free throws with just 3:06 to play, pushed Life U to a one-point disadvantage at 42-41. A Semebene jumper and clean trip to the stripe by
Maikya Simmons on the following possession saw Life U hold a single point advantage with less than two minutes to play.
Under the 40 second mark, Concordia connected on a layup to take the final lead of the game. The Running Eagles got the final chance at the game, but three misses saw the contest end iin favor of Concordia, 46-45.
Singleton and Semebene stood out as the top performers for the Running Eagles today. Singleton scored a game high 19 points, while Semebene narrowly missed out on a double-double with 12 points and eight boards.
Life U hosts one more home contest before the holiday break, facing Thomas Univ. Monday evening at 5:30 PM.
