The Central Methodist women concluded the regular season with a 71-65 letdown at Mount Mercy on Saturday afternoon in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

A year after posting a perfect regular-season record, Central finishes a disappointing season with a 13-15 overall mark and a 10-14 record in the Heart of America. The Mustangs now stand at 17-10 and 15-9 in conference play.

The Lady Eagles found themselves trailing 14-13 at the end of the first quarter before outscoring Mount Mercy 23-17 in the second to lead 36-31 at the halftime break.

Central struggled to score in the third quarter as the Mustangs outscored CMU 21-8. Despite scoring 21 points in the fourth, the Eagles were unable to pull out in front, as Mount Mercy secured a six-point win.

Tynesha Parnell scored a game-high 18 points, all of which came from beyond the arc. Zutorya Cook stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, eight rebounds, five steals, two assists, and a block.

B’Aunce Carter finished the evening with 14 points and five rebounds. Sa’Mya Stevens rounded out the double-digit scorers for CMU with 10 points.

Central outshot Mount Mercy, 44.4 percent compared to 40.4 percent for the Mustangs. CMU also knocked down seven 3-point baskets but made only six trips to the charity stripe. 

Mount Mercy, on the other hand, converted 22 of 25 free-throw shots (88%).

The Mustangs held a slight advantage on the glass, outrebounding CMU 37-36. 

The Eagles have secured the No. 8 seed in this week’s Heart of America Conference Tournament. Central will square off against No. 1 Clarke in the quarterfinals tonight (Wednesday) at 7 p.m. in Dubuque, Iowa.