Central Methodist had missed all 11 of its second-half 3-point tries when Mercedes Jefflo found Taylor Victorine in the corner with six minutes left in a tie ball game.

Victorine, who had not attempted a shot during the first three quarters, didn’t hesitate and buried the go-ahead basket.

With four minutes left, Culver-Stockton took advantage of a foul and technical to score five points on a single possession, cutting the lead to one.

Victorine found space again and calmly released a back-breaking triple, assisted by Cheyenne Allen.

It started an 8-0 run that lifted No. 8 CMU to an 83-74 win over the No. 23 Wildcats on senior day and clinched and outright Heart conference championship with two games left to play in the regular season.

“We played as a team and we got it done,” Victorine said about the finish to clinch the title. “It’s exciting, but we’re not done yet.”

Victorine credited her teammates for putting her in position to make the 97th and 98th 3-pointers of her career in those critical moments.

“The passes were great, they were right in the shooter’s pocket and they gave me enough time to get the shot off,” she said. “It was a great team effort.”

Crimson Jones attacked the basket, bullying her way through defenders for eight points in the paint over the final 3:30. Jones finished with 18 points and eight rebounds. Jefflo had 19 points, seven assists and four steals before fouling out.

Lanay Rodney led the Eagles with 21 points in 36 minutes. Cheyenne Allen also played over 30 minutes, she was 2-4 from the 3-point line and had six assists.

“Great finish,” CMU coach Mike Davis said “We had a lot of adjustments today, where we lost Daesjah Ely to the injury in our last ball game, it changed our entire rotation.

“We were kind of figuring out how that was going to go today. And then in the fourth quarter, I think our girls just gutted it up and said let’s go win this thing.”

Eight of the Eagles’ top nine scorers are seniors: Jefflo, Rodney, Jones, Allen, Veronica Preciado, Gloria Mulumba, Sam Caruth, and Ashley Martin.

Victorine, who has been at CMU the longest of the group, is a technically a junior, but has completed her Biology degree in three years to graduate early.

“It’s been so much fun, we have such a great team spirit,” Victorine said. “Our chemistry on the floor comes from being friends on the floor.”

With its 20th conference win of the year, Central Methodist (26-2) clinched the conference title with a win over the team that ended their season last year with an overtime defeat in the Heart tournament semifinals.

After finishing 8-8 in road games a year ago, CMU is a perfect 15-0 away from Fayette this season.

The Eagles have allowed 68 points per game while scoring an average of  88, which ranks third in NAIA Division I.

“I think for this group, you have to go back to last year,” Davis explained.

“A team that felt as though maybe we weren’t treated the way we should have been with a national tournament bid. They’ve played this whole year with a chip on their shoulder and I think it shows.”