The Central Methodist women won a tight battle between two of the nation’s best team Saturday afternoon at home. The No. 6 Lady Eagles knocked off fifth-ranked Clarke University in a 71-64 thriller.

With the win, Central improves its perfect record to 6-0 and 2-0 in the Heart, while Clarke falls to 6-1 and 1-1 in conference play.

The Eagles’ defense stymied one of the nation’s top offenses in the opening quarter, holding the Pride to just seven first-period points. Central then outscored Clarke, 21-13 in the second quarter to take a 16-point lead into the locker room.

It was a more even contest in the third, as CMU tallied 16 points compared to 15 for the Pride. Clarke attempted a late fourth-quarter comeback, coming to within six points of the lead in the closing moments of the game. However, timely free-throw shooting from the Eagles held off the rally as Central picked up a crucial early conference win.

Sophomore forward Leah Johnson secured a double-double with 20 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. She also added four blocks, two assists, and a steal to her statline.

Leianya Massenat led all scorers with 21 points in addition to nine rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Jaicia Canady was the final Eagle to land in double figures with 11 points. In addition, the native of Fort Worth, Texas, dished out a game-high five assists, paired with four steals in the Eagles’ win.

As a team, Central forced 22 Pride turnovers on 11 steals, and held Clarke to just 33.3% shooting from the floor. The Pride converted just four of 20 attempts from beyond the arc for 20%.

CMU will next face MidAmerica Nazarene in the first of a three-game road trip tonight at 5:30 p.m. in Olathe, Kansas. The Lady Eagles return home for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff against Culver-Stockton College on Wednesday, December 14.