The Calvary basketball team went 15-2 on the season as the team defeated Manhattan Christian College 71-63 on Tuesday night. With the win, the Warriors have now won 14 of their last 15 games and will go into the MCCC Tournament as the #2 seed.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game but this is the kind of win you have to have for a changing of the guard in our conference and in the NCCAA,” Warrior Head Coach Tressa Shoemaker said. “Manhattan is a quality program and they have been consistently getting national top ten votes throughout the season. We want to compete at the national level and we are doing that.”
The Warriors and Thunder traded the lead six times in the first quarter as the score remained close. Calvary was able to gain a 15 point advantage over Manhattan going into halftime with strong shooting from the guards and by holding Manhattan to nine points in the second quarter. “We were able to gain a good lead in the 2nd quarter and even though they came out strong in the 2nd half we were able to hold our lead with good passing and consistent rebounding,” said forward Anna Holloway.
Manhattan refused to go away and came out of halftime looking to get back into the game by spreading their offense out against the Warriors zone. “We did a good job in the second half of stopping their penetration,” said Shoemaker. “Manhattan did a great job with pressure at the end of the game to make that run.” The Lady Warriors were able to overcome that late run and full court pressure by the Thunder to finish with a 71-63 victory. Anna Holloway led the Warriors in scoring, finishing with 24 points. Taylor Hunter scored 15 and Shalom Sutcliffe finished with six points and four assists.
“Our team has been working all season on improving our inside presence,” stated Shoemaker. “During the first half, the guards handled the majority of our scoring. Throughout the second half our forwards impacted the outcome of the game in a large way both offensively and defensively.”
Next up, the Warriors will be at home in the MCCC Conference Tournament on February 15, 16.