The No. 1 Central Methodist women fended off an upset bid by fifth-seeded Texas Wesleyan, 74-68, in the NAIA National Basketball Tournament Round of 16 on Monday afternoon in Sioux City, Iowa.

The Eagles remain the best NAIA team in the nation and push their unblemished record to 34-0 to advance to the National Quarterfinals for the second year in a row. The Rams end their season with a final record of 27-6.

“34-0, there’s nothing wrong with that,” CMU coach Mike Davis said after the game. “I’m so proud of these young ladies. We played a really good ball club today, and I thought Texas Wesleyan played a great ball game. We’re going to see good teams here. They made a great run at us.” 

CMU got off to a bit of a slow start Monday. The Lady Eagles fell behind early in the first quarter but regained their footing with a seven-point run. The Lady Rams led by as much as four points in an opening period in which they outscored CMU 19-18.

Central found itself mired in a defensive stalemate in the first half but turned it around late in the second quarter. Trailing 24-22 midway through the second period, the Lady Eagles closed the half with a 10-4 scoring run. Central won the second quarter 14-8 to take a 32-28 lead into the halftime break.

The Eagles exploded in the second half, opening the third quarter with a 17-6 scoring run to take a 49-34 lead with 4:08 left in the period. Central ended the period with an 11-point lead, 56-45, led by seven points each from sophomore Leianya Massenat and senior Daryna Bachkarova. Sophomore guard Zutorya Cook and junior Jaicia Canady posted five points each in the third quarter, combining to make four of five shots from the field.

Texas Wesleyan roared back in the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run over the first three minutes to erase Central’s double-digit lead and come within three points.

Adding to the tension, Central was without starting forward Leah Johnson for the last six minutes of the game. The 6’3 sophomore had nine points and 10 rebounds when she drew her fifth foul with 5:54 on the clock, with her team ahead 59-55.

“We had to play a lot of minutes without Leah today,” Davis said. “She’s such a big part of our team. She changes us.”

Senior Robin Beck took over in the paint, grabbing two defensive rebounds in the final minutes. 

“Robin Beck was huge,” Davis said. “Her rebounding, her presence, her ability on the inside. She’s a big-time player. She played great at the national tournament last year, and she was huge for us today.”

The Lady Rams closed the gap to two points at the 4:08 mark of the fourth, 61-59. But a crucial 3-point shot from senior guard Daryna Bachkarova a minute later extended Central’s lead to 64-59.

It was a back-and-forth affair in the game’s closing minutes. Leading 70-66 with 25 seconds remaining, Bachkarova nailed another 3-pointer from the corner to seal the victory. 

Leianya Massenat converted a pair of three throws with 10 seconds left, making the final score 74-68 in favor of the Eagles. 

“I think it showed the poise that our team has to handle that,” Davis said about his team’s ability to finish off close games. “This team has had a great poise and a great presence all year long. I thought that carried us through the second half today.”

Massenat led all scorers with 24 points, paired with six rebounds, four assists, and four steals. The sophomore guard scored 14 points in the second half.

“We just wanted to win,” she said about CMU’s dominant third quarter. “You have to make baskets to win, and so we had to lock in.”

Daryna Bachkarova also landed in double figures with 21 points. A dozen of those came from the 3-point arc, including a clutch three with 27 seconds left to ice the win. The senior from Minsk, Belarus, added four rebounds, four assists, and two steals in 37 minutes of action.

Zutorya Cook played every minute for Central, tallying 13 points on 50 percent shooting from the floor. Despite battling foul trouble in the later stages of the second and fourth quarters, Leah Johnson nearly tallied a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. In addition, the native of Ewing, New Jersey, collected four blocks in the victory.

The smallest player on the floor, Jaicia Canady, led the Lady Eagles on the boards, grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds. Beck also provided vital minutes off the bench, pulling down six rebounds, of which five came on the defensive glass.

Central now advances to the NAIA National Quarterfinals, where they will face third-seeded Marian (Ind.) at 11 a.m. today (Wednesday) in a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal game when the Lady Eagles defeated the Knights 72-62.

In Monday’s Round of 16, Marian upset second-seeded Westmont (California) 68-57, led by Kinnidy Garrard with a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds. Four out of Marian’s five starters finished in double figures on 49.1 percent shooting as a team.

The winner advances to the semifinals to play against the winner of the Cramer Quadrant at 6 p.m. on Friday.