The No. 14 Central Methodist women's basketball team returned to winning form with an 80-56 victory over Haskell Indian Nations University Saturday afternoon inside Puckett Field House. 

The Central Methodist women's program landed at No. 14 in the third edition of the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 poll, which was released by the national office last Wednesday. 

Other Heart schools featured in the Top 25 include No. 15 Clarke, No. 25 Benedictine, and Grand View which received votes but did not crack the top 25.

The Eagles jumped out to a perfect 8-0 start through the month of November before a bout of covid forced Central to cancel their first two games of Heart play. Central bounced back with a convincing 91-49 victory over William Penn on December 8 before narrowly falling to Missouri Valley College 94-86 Saturday afternoon. 

Central is currently averaging 83 points per game and has held seven of its opponents to under 70 points on the defensive side of the floor. 

Senior guard Arleighshya McElroy is averaging 22.5 points per game, while freshman forward Leah Johnson is averaging a double-double with 11.2 points and 11.1 rebounds per contest. 

With the win Saturday, Central earned a sweep over the Fighting Indians this season and improved its overall record to 10-3. Haskell fell to 7-11. 

Central controlled the game from the opening tip, as the Eagles scored 21 unanswered points to open the first quarter. CMU's defense held Haskell without a point through nearly eight full minutes of game action in the first period. The Fighting Indians eventually broke the drought with a three-point basket at the 1:57 mark. 

Leading 23-8 at the end of the first, the Eagles scored 19 in the second and 22 in the third to take a 54-32 lead into the fourth quarter. Despite Haskell outscoring the Eagles 24-16 in the final frame, CMU still secured the 24-point victory.

Senior Arleighshya McElroy led Central's offense with 21 points along with six rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Junior Daryna Bachkarova returned to the hardwood for the first time since Nov. 27, tallying 18 points and grabbing nine rebounds, nearly earning a double-double. She also recorded a game-high six steals and dished out four assists in the win.

Freshman Leianya Massenat followed with 13 points while classmate Leah Johnson rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12. Senior forward Daesjah Ely led the rebounding efforts with 15 boards, which included six on the offensive glass. Ely also tallied eight points, a steal, and a block in 25 minutes of action. 

Sophomore Jaicia Canady was a key contributor off the bench, as the sophomore guard stuffed the stat sheet with six rebounds, four assists, and three steals. 

As a team, the Eagles finished the afternoon shooting 45.7 percent from the field, including 73.3 percent from the charity stripe. Central controlled the rebounding efforts, grabbing 53 boards compared to 41 for Haskell. 

Central will close out 2021 with a matchup against William Woods Friday, December 31, at 1 p.m inside Puckett Field House.