POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. --- The Asbury women's basketball (20-9, 14-2 CCS) defense forced 32 turnovers in the National Christan College Athletics Association (NCCAA) National Tournament opening round on Wednesday morning, helping guide the Eagles to a win over No. 4 seeded Houghton (17-10, 8-8 E8), 70-43.
Asbury was led in scoring by sophomore exercise science major
Ma'Kiya West's 15 points. West was near perfect from beyond the arc scoring all 15 from the three-point line and finishing 5-6 from range. The Louisville, Ky., native added five rebounds and one steal to her totals.
Senior psychology major
Camryn Preston paced West in scoring with 13 of her own on 5-7 shooting from the field, and adding three steals. Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) Rookie of the Year
Emily Sizemore tacked on nine points and four rebounds for AU.
Sophomore exercise science major
Camryn Poole and sophomore
Liz Boyd combined for 17 points off the bench for Asbury. Poole poured in nine points and swiped a team-high five steals, while Boyd flirted with a double-double with eight points and nine boards.
The Eagles led from the jump, out-scoring the Highlanders 24-13 in the first frame and 17-9 in the second to head into the half up 41-22. AU's defense proved stout again in the third, holding HC to just eight points in the third, making it a 28 point lead into the fourth. Houghton out-scored AU in the fourth quarter 13-12, but wasn't enough as the Eagles capped their 70-43 quarterfinal win.
Houghton was led in scoring by Crysta Lacrosse's 10 points and five rebounds. Kayla Camacho, Tabatha DeVries, and Abby Guiher each aided Lacrosse in scoring pouring in six points a piece. Camacho added 10 rebounds, DeVries six.
The Highlanders out-rebounded AU 45-38 for the morning. Houghton grabbing 19 offensive rebounds and AU 16.
AU finished 27-79 (34%) from the field while Houghton shot just 17-59 (29%). Both teams hit on eight three pointers for the morning, AU finishing at a 24% clip and HC at a 30% rate. Houghton was just 1-3 from the free-throw line, Asbury finished 8-9 (89%).
Asbury just eight turnovers on five Houghton steals, while HC committed 32 turnovers on 23 steals for AU. Asbury converted the turnovers into 23 points on the offensive end, the Highlanders not converting a point off turnover.
Asbury scored 27 bench points, while HC poured in 14. The Eagles converted eight points in the paint, the Highlanders two.
This was the second meeting between the two programs in school history. The first coming at the 2023 NCCAA National Tournament where Asbury won that matchup.
AU improves to 20-9 on the year, and advances to the NCCAA Semifinals, Houghton falls to 17-10 on the year and will now compete in the consolation bracket.
"We are super excited about the win we got today. We didn't shoot particularly well, but we played extremely hard, played great defense and took care of the ball without turning it over. We always lean on our defense and expect it to get us some easy points when we need them. Now we will get some rest and get ready for the Final Four matchup."
Chad Mayes | Head Women's Basketball Coach
Asbury now will advance to play No. 1 seeded Mission University in the NCCAA Semifinals at Point Lookout, MO., tip slated for 4:30 PM EST tomorrow.
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Ma'Kiya West | 15 PTS (5-6 3PT), 5 REB
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Camryn Preston | 13 PTS (5-7 FG), 3 STL
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Emily Sizemore | 9 PTS, 4 REB
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Camryn Poole | 9 PTS, 5 STL
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Liz Boyd | 8 PTS, 9 REB
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Trinity Britton | 4 STL
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