Eagles Drop Heartbreaker after Completing Impressive Road Comeback

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Facing a double-digit deficit at the halftime break, Avila women's basketball pieced together a wholly impressive comeback, battling all the way back to take a lead with a minute left, but Baptist Bible (1-3) was able to do just enough in that final minute to edge the Eagles (0-2) 68-67 in a tense contest on Thursday evening.

The first two meetings between these two in-state foes ended up being decisive victories for the winning team, and, for a time, it seemed like meeting number three might be headed in that direction. Avila was sluggish on offense in the first half – the Eagles were stuck on one made field goal for a while and shot just 27% from the field as BBC built up a lead as large as 26-6 with 7:33 left in the second quarter.

Avila got things going down the stretch of that period, but the Patriots still took a 37-20 lead into the locker rooms, and swiftly restored their 20-point lead on two three-pointers from Cassidy Hambleton in the first two minutes of the half.

It is often said that good defense can lead to good offense. And on Thursday, with the Eagle offense struggling to start, the Eagle defense stepped up and provided a spark to allow the offense to finally catch a flame late and combust into a killer comeback. Avila allowed Baptist Bible to only score 25 points over the game's final 18 minutes, and once the offense got going, it was a brand new ballgame.

London Foster got the ball rolling by scoring five straight for the Eagles, and then Kayla Navy and Hannah Smith got involved to get the Eagles back within single digits at 45-36. Put another way, BBC only scored two points over six minutes after Hambleton's shot put them back up by 20 for the third time.

The Patriots broke out of that slump to go back up by 16 at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Eagles were ready to rally. Back to back threes from Smith and Kaytee Frasher made it a five-point game with five minutes left before BBC pulled back out to a nine-point edge with four minutes left. Avila took advantage of its free throws to continue to creep back, finally capping off the comeback on a three-point play from freshman Riley Boggs, tying the score at 62 with 1:50 left.

Soon after, free throws from Foster and Emily Baldwin and a bucket from Navy put the Eagles in front 66-63. The comeback was complete: Avila had pulled off a 23-point turnaround in under 18 minutes. But the game was far from over. BBC immediately tied it up again with a three from Gabby Adams, and then both sides converted a sole free throw, keeping the score tied at 67 with 14 seconds showing.

Both teams had chances in what became a frenetic final few seconds. Avila turned the ball over, giving Josie Sullivan a chance to potentially win the game, but she missed the shot with 11 seconds left. Avila then turned the ball over again and fouled quickly, sending Essieanna Bennett to the line with two seconds left in a tie game. She sank her first free throw before sagely missing the second, grabbing her own rebound and running out the clock: somehow Baptist Bible survived, prevailing 68-67 in a heartbreaker for the Eagles.

Hambleton played every single minute for the Patriots and finished with a game-high 20 points. Navy, the reigning KCAC Defensive Player of the Week, led the Eagles with 16 points off the bench to go with seven rebounds and a whopping six steals; Boggs scored 12 in her second college game; Smith scored 10, as did Foster, who also turned in six boards and four assists.

Up next, Avila women's basketball will take the floor at Mabee Fieldhouse for the first time this season coming up on Monday, November 7 against Langston. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 PM; tickets are priced at $8 per person for visiting fans. As always, you can tune in to the live stream with Joe Van Amburg on the call live from Kansas City on the Avila Sports Network.