See the Athletics News page for all the post-season recognition given to our Lady Eagles basketball team by the NCCAA & ACCA!  Stay tuned for team awards, to be announced this spring as well!

January 21, 2012

The Lady Eagles played a great game but lost tonight to a solid team in Lincoln Christian University (Lincoln, IL). The game was close the whole way, and neither team led by more than 7 points, but Emmaus fell by the final of 53-51. In the end, Lincoln’s Tatiana Colclasure was key to victory with 31 points, 12 rebounds and 8 steals.

Teamwork and solid shooting kept the Lady Eagles in the game, as they tallied 16 team assists on their 22 field goals, and shot 42.3% from the field compared to Lincoln’s 26.7%. Freshman Rachel Crim (pictured left) led the way for Emmaus with 17 points and 8 rebounds, and junior Heather Grimm (pictured right) scored 16 and dished out 3 assists.

“This was probably our most complete game of the season.” commented coach Justin Smith. “We played unselfish basketball and the energy and focus were there from start to finish. We are disappointed not to come away with a victory, but Lincoln is a good team and I couldn’t be more proud of our ladies’ efforts out there tonight.”

The Lady Eagles will host fellow ACCA foes Crossroads College (Rochester, MN) and Association Free Lutheran Bible School (Plymouth, MN) this weekend as part of the 2012 Emmaus Classic. 

March 6, 2011

The Emmaus basketball season concluded yesterday at the ACCA National Tournament in Joplin, Missouri.

The Emmaus women were seeded #8 and also faced a tough team in the first round, the #1 seeded Rhema Bible Training Center (Broken Arrow, OK). Rhema's athleticism proved too much to overcome, and despite a strong effort, the Lady Eagles fell by a score of 87-47.  Junior Molly Barsness led the team with 13 points on 6-6 shooting from the field.  In the consolation round, Emmaus took on a fellow member of the NCCAA Midwest Region, Grace Bible College (Grand Rapids, MI). After losing to Grace by 33 points back in late January, the Lady Eagles showed great improvement and hung within 10 points most of the way before falling by the score of 77-61. Grace's Jessica Sikorski, a candidate for NCCAA National Player of the Year, was too much to handle, scoring 41 points and dominating the middle. Four members of the Emmaus team scored in double figures: senior Anna Nininger (15 points), sophomore Raquel Gutierrez (11 points), Molly Barsness (10 points), and senior Brianna Doran (10 points).  On Saturday, playing for 7th place, Emmaus drew another familiar opponent, Association Free Lutheran Bible School (Plymouth, MN). The Lady Eagles trailed by only four at halftime, but could never get closer than that in the second half and lost by the final of 59-47. Anna Nininger led the effort, scoring 12 points and dishing out 6 assists in her final college game.  Molly Barsness (12 points), Raquel Gutierrez (10 points), and senior Ashleigh Wilson (8 points) were some of the other major contributors to the cause.

All in all, the trip to Nationals was a great success, as both teams had a great time playing and watching basketball, relaxing in the hotel, traveling and eating together, and getting to fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ from the other Christian colleges from around the country.

March 2, 2011

Several members of the Emmaus men's and women's basketball teams have received recognition for their hard work on and off the basketball court this year.

The Lady Eagles fought hard but came up a bit short in the end, losing by the final of 52-43. Trailing in the first half by as many as 10, Emmaus came roaring back to cut the deficit to 4 at halftime. The Lady Eagles gave a valiant effort but quite made it all the way back, due to some cold shooting spells. Many girls made significant contributions for the Lady Eagles, headlined by senior Ashleigh Wilson who finished with 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.  Senior Anna Nininger (8 points, 10 rebounds), and junior Heather Grimm (7 points, 5 rebounds) had solid games as well. Shelby Kinneberg paced the AFLBS team with 15 points.

Both teams are back in action this coming Friday night (January 28) and will take on Calvary Bible College (Kansas City, MO) as part of the Emmaus Classic. See the schedule webpages for more details.

November 20, 2010

The Emmaus women's basketball team defeated Northland International University 53-50 on Saturday as part of NCCAA Midwest Regional Tip-Off Tournament at Moody Bible Institute. The game was close throughout as the Lady Eagles took a 24-21 lead into halftime, and were able to hold that same three-point lead at the final buzzer due to some clutch free throw shooting and great team play. Leading the way for Emmaus were seniors Anna Nininger with 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists, and Brianna Doran with 12 points and 13 rebounds. The Lady Eagles shot 78% from the charity stripe and committed a season low of 12 turnovers.

"This was a nice win for us," said Coach Smith. "Northland is always tough to beat and we rose to the occasion today with some great leadership from our seniors Anna, Bri and Ashleigh."
 

September 18, 2010

An exciting season of Emmaus Eagles & Lady Eagles basketball is coming soon and the schedule of games is now available on the web.

The men have 24 games on this year's schedule, while the women will play 17 regular season games, not including regional & national tournaments.  Tryouts/practice will begin Monday, October 11th.

One of the highlights of the season will be hosting several tournaments in our very own Pollard Fieldhouse, including two Emmaus Classics and the NCCAA Men's Midwest Regional Tip-Off Tournament.  Team rosters will be posted in early November.

March 10, 2010

Congratulations to the Eagles for securing 4th place at the recent ACCA National Tournament in Oklahoma City, and to the Lady Eagles for their 6th place finish! A fun way to end another great season!

Click here for tournament scores and statistics

The Emmaus basketball teams finished their home basketball schedule on a high note this weekend. The Lady Eagles defeated Central Christian College of the Bible (Moberly, MO) 61-52 on Friday night, and took down Lincoln Christian University (Lincoln, IL) 52-38 on Saturday afternoon. The men's team also outgunned CCCB by the score of 85-67, but fell in a hard-fought game against Lincoln, the 9th-ranked team in NCCAA Division II, 82-71.

Friday, 2/12  
Friday's women's action began with both teams playing even for most of the first half, but the Lady Eagles pulled came out on top thanks in large part to freshman Tiffiney Starr's 25 points and 8 rebounds. Forcing 32 CCCB turnovers and holding Lady Saints to 35% shooting were the defensive keys.  Junior Anna Nininger contributed 12 points and 6 steals to the solid team effort.  Marissa Hunter led CCCB with 20 points and 5 steals.

Saturday, 2/13
On Saturday Emmaus again moved the ball around well, accumulating 19 total assists, led by 4 from junior Brianna Doran. The bulk of the scoring was done by freshman Tiffiney Starr (21 points, 10 rebounds) and junior Anna Nininger (9 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals). Sophomore Molly Barsness pulled down 8 rebounds and had 5 steals. The Lady Red Lions' effort was led by Sheena Cooper's 20 points and 15 rebounds.  Today's win moved the Lady Eagles into #6 seed in the NCCAA Midwest Regional, coming up on February 25th at Kuyper College in Grand Rapids, MI.

Just a few hours after the men's team defeated Great Lakes, the women took the floor hoping to do the same against Grace Bible College (Grand Rapids, MI).  The underdog Lady Eagles came out strong and jumped to an 18-6 advantage, maintaining control throughout the first half and leading the Lady Tigers at the break by a score of 38-24.  Grace mounted a second half comeback and got as close as 40-35, but Emmaus responded to every challenge and pulled away to win by a final of 71-60.  Grace's Jessica Sikorski was nearly unstoppable (28 points, 19 rebounds), but the Lady Eagles forced 30 turnovers and worked together beautifully throughout the game, with 20 assists on their 28 field goals.  Sophomore Molly Barsness led the charge with 21 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals. Junior Anna Nininger had a solid game (16 points, 5 assists, 4 steals), and freshman Tiffiney Star contributed 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting. Sophomore Alyssa Pfeifer (8 points, 5 assists) and junior Brianna Doran (6 points, 4 steals) were among the many other Lady Eagles who made contributions to the victory.  It was the first time since 2001 that the Lady Eagles have defeated an opponent in the tough NCCAA Midwest Region.

Coach Justin Smith comments: "This was probably the most meaningful win in the five years I have coached at Emmaus.  Grace is always one of the most talented and well-coached teams we face, and our girls have worked hard all season for something like this.  Most importantly, I trust that all of our attitudes have glorified Christ on the court today."