Fayette, Mo. - A late basket from Sharay Trotter sealed a 77-73 victory for the Eagles over Culver-Stockton College Thursday night inside Puckett Field House.
Central now stands at 9-8 and 6-7 in the Heart of America, while the Wildcats fall to 5-11 and 4-8 in conference play.
Leading by two with 30 seconds remaining, Central couldn't quite run out the clock but had the opportunity to go up two possessions with a field goal make. Reigning Heart Player of the Week Zutorya Cook drove to the basket with under 10 seconds. Despite missing the contested shot, the Eagles secured the long rebound as Trotter got the put back to go, putting the Eagles up 77-73 with seven seconds left.
The Wildcats ran out of time, as a steal from Cook on the followin possession clinched the four-point victory.
Both Cook and Miaya Ware led the offense with 18 points apiece. Cook stuffed the stat sheet with six assists, five rebounds, and five steals. Ware added six rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block to her stat line.
Senior forward B'Aunce Carter also reached double figures with 14 points in 20 minutes off the bench. In addition, Carter recorded five rebounds, two steals, and an assist. Tynesha Parnell was the final Eagle to land in double figures, as the senior guard tallied 12 points all of which came from the three-point line.
Trotter nearly cracked double figures with nine points in addition to four rebounds, four steals, and two assists. Genet Mebratu finished the evening with six points, six rebounds, three assists, and a steal in the four-point win.
CMU had one of their best outings from the free throw line, knocking down 15-of-18 attempts from the charity stripe for 83.3 percent. The Eagles held a slight advantage on the glass, grabbing 34 rebounds compared to 31 for Culver-Stockton.
Central forced 18 turnovers on 14 steals, and held the Wildcats to under 30 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
The Eagles will next host Mount Mercy University in a rescheduled game Monday, Jan. 22 at 5:30 p.m. inside Puckett Field House.
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