Three-pointers key in road win over Central Baptist

CONWAY, AR – Grace Beyer led the way with 39 points, but it was a true group effort as the Eutectics pulled out a 69-62 road win over Central Baptist in their second American Midwest Conference matchup of the season.

Both teams were heavily reliant on the three throughout the game at A.R. Reddin Fieldhouse. At the half, six of UHSP's ten made field goals were from perimeter while the Mustangs saw five of their eight made field goals come from beyond the three-point arc. The Eutectics used a 17-6 second quarter to eventually grab their first lead of the game en route to a 37-27 lead at the break.

Central Baptist controlled the early part of the contest which was a de facto three-point parade. Five of the first six made shots of the game were from distance as the Mustangs took an 11-6 advantage after a Caroline Citty triple with 6:58 left in the first. Beyer made a pair of free throws, but Rhys Anderson answered with a pair of threes and CBC was up nine at 17-8. Elizabeth Allanach made the second of her three made threes in the game and Beyer added four free throws to close out the quarter as Central Baptist led 21-15 at the end of one. For UHSP, four of their first six made field goals were from beyond the arc.

In the second, CBC continued to hound Beyer. She had 23 points at the half, but midway through the second, the usually sure-handed point guard had four turnovers. Samantha Matthews joined the three-point party 2:43 into the second to make it a 25-22 game in favor of CBC. Midway through the period, Beyer used a lost art to give the Eutectics their first lead. In a recent interview with Yahoo Sports, Beyer talked about how the mid-range jumper could catch defenses off-guard because it was unexpected. Beyer went back-to-back with pull-up 16 footers to put UHSP on top for the first time at 26-25 with 4:01 left in half. She would make a pair of threes to send the Eutectics to the locker-room with a 32-27 lead at the break.

In the third, predictably three of the four UHSP field goals were threes. Two came from Matthews and Allanach drilled one as the Eutectics relinquished the lead late as Central Baptist led 49-48 at the end of the quarter. The Purple and Gold led 48-45 in the final minute, but CBC's Tamara Christmas and Olivia Lambrigtsen each made layups in the final :45 seconds to put the Mustangs on top 49-48 with one quarter to go.

Tied at 52-52, Karsyn Morgan nailed a three not even two minutes into the fourth to give the St. Louis group the lead. That was part of an 8-0 run capped by a Matthews triple as UHSP took a 60-52 advantage. Central Baptist was not done as they cut the margin to four at 64-60 on a Lambrigtsen jumper with 1:59 to go. But Matthews drilled a clutch jumper :18 seconds later and on the next possession, Beyer drilled a deep straight-away three and UHSP led 69-62 providing the final margin.

Grace Beyer continues to chase history as she is now 92 points away from becoming the all-time career scoring leader in not only the NAIA, but at any level of college women's basketball. Along with her 39 points, she added 11 rebounds and six assists. Beyer was a perfect 13-for-13 at the foul line in the game. Samantha Matthews had 16 points on six field goals, four of which came from the perimeter. Elizabeth Allanach was key with nine points, five rebounds and four assists in the win. Olivia Lambrigtsen paced the Mustangs with 21 points and five boards while Rhys Anderson had 14 points, four boards and seven assists.

Neither team was electric with their shooting as UHSP was 22-for-54 (40.7%) while Central Baptist was 23-for-72 (31.9%). The Mustangs garnered 18 more field goal attempts while outrebounding the Eutectics 42-37 and holding a 10-5 advantage in turnovers. The game featured 63 three-point attempts, four ties and eight lead changes.

It is the final stretch of the regular season for the Eutectics (14-11, 9-6) as they finish out a two-game in three day stretch in Arkansas on Saturday when they play at Williams Baptist. UHSP wraps up the regular season the following week with Beyer on the verge of history with Cottey College in town on Thursday and Hannibal-LaGrange visiting on Sat., Feb. 24.