Eagles roll past Sunshine Bible 50-30

The Mitchell Christian girls’ basketball team went on three big runs en route to defeating Sunshine Bible Academy 50-30 Monday in Mitchell.

The streaks put distance between the two teams, which are both having winning seasons this year.

The first run came with the Eagles down 13-11 in the second quarter and looking for a momentum boost.

They got a surge from juniors Becca Glanzer and Alexa Van Laecken, who each forced steals and scored buckets during the 7-0 run — giving Mitchell Christian an 18-13 lead.

Glanzer finished the game with 13 points and seven steals, while Van Laecken had eight points, five rebounds and five steals.

“The girls did start off slow. These early games tend to do that and they just didn’t have their feet under them,” Mitchell coach Jackie Van Laecken said. “We had a few early shots that we needed a little bit more patience on. I am really proud of the girls.”

The second run came in the third quarter for Mitchell Christian, which was leading 20-18 when it went on an 8-2 run. During that span, the Eagles gave themselves some breathing room and an eight-point lead over Sunshine Bible Academy.

“We had a little bit of foul trouble that hurt us, and we started getting a little worn down,” Sunshine Bible Academy assistant coach Lindsey Hettich said. “They started hitting some of their outside shots.”

The final big run of the evening came in the second part of the third quarter when the Eagles went on a 9-2 run — highlighted by Emily Reynen’s jump-shot buzzer beater.

Reynen led the Eagles in scoring with 14 points.

Mitchell Christian was outrebounded by the Crusaders 42-24.

Sunshine Bible Academy’s leading scorer was 6-foot-1 center Sarah Pedersen, who scored nine points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

The Crusaders have three players, who are 5-foot-10 and above and all three recorded double-digit rebounds.

“We are used to the height difference, and we have had that problem for as long as I can remember,” Mitchell Christian’s Brittany Zoss said. “But I think we handled ourselves pretty well.”

Zoss grabbed eight rebounds and finished with six points.

Mitchell Christian is now 11-5 and plays James Valley Christian today in Huron.

MITCHELL CHRISTIAN 50

SUNSHINE BIBLE ACADEMY 30

MCS (11-5)

Alexa Van Laecken 4 0-0 8, Becca Glanzer 5 3-4 13, Abbie Reynen 2 0-2 4, Emily Reynen 6 2-3 14, Brittnay Zoss 6 0-0 6, Lindsay Thompson 1 0-1 2, Ashley Glanzer 0 0-0 3, Kelsey Thompson 0 0-0 0, Destiny Reimnitz 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 5-10 50.

SBA (9-7)

Tricia Wilken 2 1-2 5, Rebekah Konechne 0 0-0 3, Sarah Pedersen 4 1-2 9, Shanna Moreland 1 2-4 4, Cassie Beckwith 2 2-2 6, Jana Hunt 0 0-0 3, Jessica Clowdis 0 0-0 0, Anna Park 0 0-0 0, Gina Park 0 0-0 0, Elissa Stiegelmeier 0 0-0 0, Heather Deal 0 0-0 0. Totals: 9 6-10 30.

MCS 11 20 39 50

SBA 13 18 25 30

3-point goals: MCS 1 (A. Glanzer), SBA 2 (Konechne, Hunt). Rebounds: MCS 24

(Zoss 8), SBA 42 ( Moreland 12). Assists: MCS 13 (Van Laecken 7), SBA 6 (Konechne 3). Steals: MCS 18 (Glanzer 7), SBA 3 (Moreland 3). Turnovers: MCS 5, SBA 26. Total fouls: MCS 11, SBA 13. Technical fouls: none

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