Eutectics Tame Mustangs for Fourth AMC Win

The Eutectic women's basketball team earned a 82-61 American Midwest Conference (AMC) victory over the Central Baptist College Mustangs (Ark.)(3-8, 2-4 AMC) Thursday night in the UHSP gymnasium. It was the fifth consecutive win over the Mustangs by the Eutectics over the past three seasons and improved the UHSP 2023-24 record to 9-7 overall and 4-2 in the AMC.

The Eutectics set the tone of the game right off the bat when Payten Foster won the tip, setting up Grace Beyer's assist to Elizabeth Allanach, who drained a triple before 10 seconds had come off the clock. The Purple and Gold continued in that vein, going up 10-2 after five minutes then extending that to 20-6 by the end of the first quarter, as the Mustangs struggled with accuracy, going only 3-for-17 from the field.

The CBC team began to find its footing in the second period shooting at 61.5%, boosted by a perfect 3-for-3 from the arc by Rhys Anderson. But, UHSP's Karsyn Morgan had her own perfect quarter, making 4-of-4 field goal attempts, including three triples, to contribute to the home team's 66.7% shooting in the quarter. While the Mustangs slightly outscored the Euts 20-18, the effort was not enough to make up for a dominant first period by the Eutectics, who maintained a sizable lead of 38-26 going into halftime.

The USHP team continued on its hot streak, improving to 70% shooting in the third quarter (7-for-10), as the Mustangs sputtered and stalled, making only 4-of-13 shots from the field. With Beyer's perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, the Eutectics were able to extend their lead to 20 points (59-39) as they headed into the final 10 minutes.

The Mustangs made 10 of their 22 team fouls in the fourth quarter, sending the Eutectics to the line 13 times. The UHSP team, who came into the game ranked third in the NAIA for free throw percentage at 80%, took full advantage, scoring 11 of its 23 points in the quarter from the charity stripe. After a 23-22 period, the Eutectics claimed the 82-61 victory.

Beyer's perfect free throw performance (16-for-16) accounted for nearly half of her 33 points on the night, while she added in seven rebounds and six assists. Following the game, Beyer's career-points total improved to 3,449, moving ever closer to the NAIA record of 3,855 set by Miriam Walker-Samuels of Claflin University (S.C.) in 1990. Coming off last week's NAIA Player of the Week award, Beyer continues to lead the NAIA in scoring, averaging 33.7 points per game.

Samantha Matthews and Morgan each finished with 13 points and two steals in the game, while Allanach contributed nine points, six assists, and one block. Emily Coleman (7), Caroliena Diaz (4), Alivia Simily (2), and Arianna Buduan (1) also scored for the Eutectics.

Olivia Lambrigtsen led the Mustangs with 17 points.

Next up, the Eutectics will be back on the UHSP court on Saturday, Jan. 20, hosting Williams Baptist University (Ark.)(4-2) for another AMC matchup at 1 p.m.