The top two teams in the Heart conference standings met in Puckett Field House on Saturday. The No. 8 Central Methodist women hung on to the top spot with a decisive 100-60 victory over No. 19 Grand View.

Lanay Rodney had eight points in a little over seven minutes as the Eagles jumped out to a 24-6 lead.

“When we keep that tempo and play the game at our pace, we get a good flow to it,” Rodney explained.

Rodney finished with 19 points and four assists.

Veronica Preciado had 11 points in the first quarter and finished the game 4-4 from the 3-point line with 14 points, three assists and two steals.

“I was just ready to play today,” she said. “Our team, you can see we enjoy each other a lot, so we were just getting into the flow of things. Whenever I got a pass, I just took my shot and it just went in.”

The Eagles forced eight Grand View turnovers in the first quarter and allowed just two made field goals, taking a 31-8 lead into the second.

The Eagles were led in scoring by Mercedes Jefflo, who had 21 points and seven assists and three steals.

“I think we did a better job of understanding how important it is to be ready to play, and not taking things for granted,” CMU coach Mike Davis said.

“Even in the last game or two when we’ve come out strong early, we haven’t come out in the second half that way.

“Today we came out in the second half and kept rolling. I thought the girls did a good job. We shot the ball so well to start with. The defense was good and we didn’t have those rebounding lulls that sometimes get us.”

Central Methodist opened the second half with a 12-2 run, stretching the lead to 56-24. The Eagles got 39 points from the bench and 13 players scored at least two. Sam Caruth was 2-3 from the 3-point line and scored eight points in seven minutes.

“They had good energy throughout the day and when we bring good energy, good things happen,” Davis said.

CMU 89, Clarke 74

The Central Methodist women took an early 17-0 lead and led by at least eight points the rest of the way in an 89-74 win over Clarke on Wednesday.

Mercedes Jefflo was 13-14 at the free-throw line and 9-14 in the field for 33 points. She also had seven assists and five steals. Lanay Rodney had 12 points. Cheyenne Allen, Crimson Jones, and Veronica Preciado each scored 10 and Daesjah Ely had nine.

Ashley Martin’s layup gave Central Methodist a 42-16 lead with five minutes remaining in the first half.

The Pride closed the gap to eight points, making three 3-pointers in a row in the third quarter. CMU closed the quarter on a 9-2 run and restored the 15-point lead.

CMU 75, MNU 61

The Eagles started a little slow on Monday night, but outscored their opponent 17-4 over the last seven minutes of a 75-61 win over MidAmerica Nazarene.

CMU scored just eight points in the second quarter and fell behind 34-28 at the half. The Eagles still trailed 53-49 with 3:22 left in the third quarter before a 9-0 CMU run. Taylor Victorine had five points during the run and her 3-pointer gave Central Methodist the lead for good.

Heart player of the week Mercedes Jefflo was 12-12 from the free-throw line, leading the Eagles with 27 points.

Lanay Rodney had 13 points and seven rebounds. Crimson Jones had 10 points and seven boards. Cheyanne Allen had seven points, three assists, and three steals.