C-SC women fall into eighth-place tie in Heart following loss at Grand View

DES MOINES, Iowa — The Culver-Stockton College women’s basketball team suffered a 68-61 Heart of America Athletic Conference loss to 17th-ranked Grand View University at the Charles Johnson Wellness Center on Saturday.

The loss drops the Wildcats into a tie with Graceland for the eighth and final playoff spot for the conference postseason tournament with four games remaining in the regular season.

C-SC owns the tie-breaker by virtue of its victory over Graceland earlier this season at Charles Field House. The two teams are slated to meet again Feb. 21 in Lamoni, Iowa.

Against Grand View, the Wildcats battled back from a 24-15 first quarter deficit and pulled within 39-33 at halftime. However, the Vikings outscored C-SC 23-12 in the third quarter to build a 56-41 advantage and then did just enough in the fourth quarter to keep the Wildcats at a safe distance.

Grand View drained 14 3-pointers, marking the most allowed by the Wildcats this season. The Wildcats shot 50 percent from the field, but managed to attempt just 46 shots, which was a season-low.

Nevaiah Bell-Tenner scored a team-high 18 points to lead the Wildcats. Addison Newbon came off the bench to notch 14 points. Bell-Tenner and Newbon each grabbed six rebounds, while Aaliyah Ortizdished out six assists.

The Wildcats (9-15, 8-12 Heart) are scheduled to start their final homestand of the season at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday against Mount Mercy at Charles Field House.