Less than 24 hours after fending off a pesky Kentucky Christian University in Grayson, the women's basketball team returned to the friendly confines of the Seabury Center to take on former KIAC Rival, the Asbury University Eagles.
It was billed as a match-up of two nationally ranked programs with the Mountaineers ranked 8th in the latest USCAA Division I Top 20 poll, and the Eagles ranked #22 in the NAIA Division II Top 25 Poll. The Eagles came out firing on all cylinders jumping out to a 15-6 behind excellent ball movement and pin point shooting. The Blue Crew would come right back keyed by a pair of steals to take the lead 18-17 at the 11:48.
Asbury responded by stepping up its defensive pressure with both a full court press and a trapping 2-3 zone. The result was an 18-4 run, that had the Mountaineers looking for answers. Berea would cut the lead down to 11 just before the half as senior Johnesha Warren converted a 3-point play. BC then forced an Asbury turnover, which led to freshman Alexus Calhoun at the line with 1.2 seconds remaining in the half. Calhoun converted both. BC would go to the locker room down 11. Asbury shot an impressive .700 from long distance in the first half, compared to BC who made only one of the three pointers attempted.
The second half saw the Mountaineers' stepped up defensive pressure cool down the hot shooting Eagles. Asbury maintained its 11 point lead throughout the second half, either increasing it or letting BC truly cut into it. BC's best chance came at the midway point when Warren and Jaime Roberts drained back to back three pointers to cut the lead to six, but that would be as close as the Mountaineers would come.
Warren led the Mountaineers in scoring with 21 points. Calhoun would collect another double-double as she dropped in 18 and grabbed 15 rebounds. Adriana Williams scored 10 to continue her streak of games in double figure scoring.
The Mountaineers next game will be on Tuesday, February 3rd when they host another former KIAC Rival in the Eagles of Alice Lloyd College. Tipoff is at 7:30 pm in the Seabury Center.