GRAND RAPIDS, Mich – After ten days, Cornerstone made its way back to their home court to fight for the number one spot in the conference against the Siena Heights Saints. In the fast-paced game, The Golden Eagles and the Saints fought back and forth. Cornerstone began to pull away in the second quarter and Siena Height struggled to recover. The Golden Eagles worked efficiently and closed out the game with tough defense and capitalizing at the free throw line. Cornerstone now sits at first in the WHAC with a 6-1 record. The Golden Eagles now look forward to facing the Calvin Knights on December 20^th.
 
Game Highlights:

• In the first quarter, Stephanie Ainsworth started the Golden Eagles off strong with two points. With a fast-paced game, Eva Alcock from Siena Heights responded with an easy layup to put two on the board for Siena Heights. Following, Jillian Gelso hit an open a three to put Siena Heights up 5-2.
• Mackenzie Stien weaved her way through traffic to finish at the rim and bring energy and momentum for the Golden Eagles. Sha'kyia Parker answered with a three to put the Saints up 8-4 as they started to pull away.
• A heavily guarded 3 pointer for Maddison Fulks helped to close the gap. A quick pass from Olivia Kubik to Jaxi Long resulted in easy points. Mackenzie Stien followed with a strong drive to cut down Siena Heights lead to one, 12-11. At 4:41 in the first quarter, Jaxi Long fired up a three to tie the game for the first time, 14-14.
• As the momentum began to build for the Golden Eagles, a strong finish by Maddison Fulks brought Cornerstone its first lead of game, 16-14. An offensive rebound for Stephanie Ainsworth put another two points on the board 18-14. With a 6-point run, the Gold Eagles found their way as Kennedy Helderop finished through traffic to close the quarter 24-15 for the Golden Eagles.
• At the start of the second quarter, a corner three from Siena Heights changed the pace for the Saints. The Golden Eagles struggled as the Saints outrebounded them and put points on the board. A turnaround jumper for the Saints from Jillian Gelso brought them within 4 points bringing the score 24-20 in favor of the Golden Eagles.
• At 6:23, Cornerstone put its first two points of the quarter on the board to keep their lead 26-20. Siena Heights put another two back on the board to fight back for the lead.
• A deep three from Olivia Kubik increased the lead 29-22 as Olivia DeLong from Siena Heights worked her way in the paint and back to the free throw line for the Saints to cut Cornerstone's lead down to one point.
• Cornerstone fought back to increase their lead as Jaylee Long hit a smooth three-pointer to bring it back to four points.  
• Olivia DeLong stayed at the free throw line for Siena Heights fighting to close the cap. But Jaylee Long was not going to let that happen as she responded with her second three pointer of the game. Mackenzie Stien brought another two points bringing the lead back to six points for the Golden Eagles.  
• Olivia Kubik had a strong finish at the rim as the final seconds counted down to close the half, 39-32 for the Golden Eagles.
• In the third quarter, Siena Heights brought the energy as they were the first to put points on the board. With a three, an almost four point play from Maddison Fulks and a wide open layup from Stephanie Ainsworth, the Golden Eagles back into the rhythm as they increased the lead to 10 points, the largest of the game for Cornerstone.
• With a steal by Mackenzie Stien and a transition bucket, Cornerstone found themselves pulling away as quick and efficient passes from Kennedy Helderop turned into easy buckets increased the lead even further away, 50-36. Mackenzie Stien showed up for the Golden Eagles with a strong block in the paint.
• The Saints fired back with three points from Sha'Kyia Parker to cut down the lead. Following that a drive from Kayla Hinton put more points on the board as they continued to fight.
• Mackenzie Stien was unstoppable with a strong finish at the rim. A three-pointer for Jaylee Long put the Golden Eagles at a 14-point lead with just five minutes to go. Stephanie Ainsworth made her way through three people to put another two points on the board. Maddison Fulks also found herself at the rim after a quick drive inside to finish the third quarter and send Cornerstone to the fourth with a 15-point lead.
• In a back-and-forth battle to start the fourth quarter, Stephanie Ainsworth put two points on the board for Cornerstone and E'Anna Won quickly put two points on the board for Siena Heights in response to bring the score to 64-49. Olivia DeLong fought in the paint and found herself at the free throw line to respond for Siena Heights.
• As Siena Heights struggled to come back, Cornerstone looked to open the gap with a block from Stephanie Ainsworth followed by four points from Mackenzie Stien. Siena Heights and Cornerstone continued to trade buckets.  
• Sha'Kyia Parker hit a deep three in an attempt to cut down the lead to 11 points for the Golden Eagles. Another quick bucket for Siena Heights rekindled the fire for the Saints as they cut the lead down to 10. A 6-1 run for the Saints and back-to-back threes for Sha'Kyia Parker bringing the lead all the way down to five points.  
• As Stephanie Ainsworth fought and finished inside, she brought the lead back to eight points for Cornerstone. Kayla Hinton from Siena Heights found herself at the rim and free throw line to put three points on the board for the Saints. Kennedy Helderop and Mackenzie Stien worked to push the pace with quick passes and strong finishes to bring the score to 74-67.
• Siena Heights tried to stop the clock by continuously fouling the Golden Eagles, but they maintain their lead as Kennedy Helderop and Mackenzie Stien collectively went nine for ten at the free throw line to close out the game.
• The Golden Eagles secured the victory 89-80 over the Siena Heights Saints.  

 
By the Numbers:
Mackenzie Stien led the Golden Eagles with 24 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals.
Kennedy Helderop led the team with 7 assists for the day.
55.2% - Cornerstone shot 55.2% from the field
 
 
What's Next?
The Golden Eagles are right back in action on Tuesday, December 20th as they travel to Calvin for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
 
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