Pride fall in Heart Quarterfinals to MidAmerica Nazarene

OLATHE, Kan. - Looking to attempt an upset of the Heart of America Athletic Conference Regular Season Champion, the Clarke University women's basketball team was unable to pull off that upset in a 64-48 final in favor of MidAmerica Nazarene University.

The Pioneers jumped out to an early lead after giving up the first basket of the game as they would answer Maci Kuchta's first three pointer with an 18-1 run to eventually win the quarter 18-6 then add on an 18-11 second to lead 36-17 at halftime.

The Pride were able to produce a better offensive second half but it wasn't enough to overcome the slow start as they would finish the match shooting 28.8 percent from the field while also turning the ball over 17 times compared to just eight for MNU as MidAmerica Nazarene scored 17 points off of those CU turnovers on their way to shooting 34.2 percent from the field.

Kameron Green of the Pioneers was the game's leading scorer with a 12-point performance while adding 10 rebounds for a double-double with Mary Lukert adding 11 points off the bench and Keona Schenck finishing off the double digit scorers with 10 points.

Clarke's Anisha Vondenkamp finished with a team-high 11 points in 18 minutes off the bench in what would presumably be her final game in a Pride uniform as Kuchta would also be in double figures in her final game at CU, finishing with 10 points.

Pride women's basketball finished the 2024-25 season with an 11-18 overall record, going 9-15 in Heart play to earn their No. 8 seed in the Heart Tournament as CU is expected to return nine members of their varsity roster from this season.