The Matchup: Evangel (7-11, 5-4 HAAC) at Benedictine (11-9, 6-3 HAAC), Ralph Nolan Gymnasium, Atchison, Kan., 2:00pm

Last Meeting: Evangel 59, Benedictine 43 (12/3/11 at Evangel)

Last 10 Meetings: Evangel leads series, 7-3

Last Time Out: Benedictine 68, Graceland 61 (1/26 at GU); Peru State 61, Evangel 59 (1/21 at PSC)

About the Crusaders: The defending HAAC regular season champions have quite the hill to climb if they are to claim another conference crown. Evangel is three games behind league-leading MidAmerica Nazarene after back-to-back losses to the Pioneers and Peru State. Head coach Leon Neal has had to lean heavily on all-conference senior Kara Blankenship, who leads the team in scoring (13.4),  assists (3.5) and steals (1.3). Freshman guard Emily Akins is having a strong debut campaign for the Crusaders, averaging 11.3 points while shooting a stellar .407 from three-point range and .763 from the free throw line. The Evangel defense has been solid in holding opposing teams to 64.8 points per game, but are last in the league in scoring at 59.3 per contest. The Crusaders have had to maximize their scoring chances as they have averaged less than 10 offensive rebounds per game. After Saturday, Evangel plays three of the next four at home, giving the team a chance to make up some ground in the standings before back-to-back road games at Culver-Stockton and MNU.

About the Ravens: Benedictine has been a stellar side away from home, winning 4-of-5 confests in conference play. The home form hasn't matched the level of play on the road as the Ravens are just 2-2 in Nolan Gymnasium in HAAC games. Bench play will likely play a big part for the Ravens as they are 8-3 when getting at least 20 points from the reserves and the same record when outscoring the opposing bench. The foursome of Rosie Youngstrom, Jackie Ziesel, Kristin Thorne and Liz Stinson combine to average 21.9 points per game off the bench, putting the focus on their contributions. Senior guard Kelsey Wolfe continues to lead the way for Benedictine, averaging 12.6 points in a team-high 27.0 minutes per game. Over half of her attempts have come from beyond the arc, where she has hit 40 percent of her attempts. Wolfe had a season-high 25 points and hit five three-pointers against the Eagles in her last home appearance. No Raven player averages at least five rebounds per game, putting a premium on team effort on the glass as they look to improve on a -1.0 rebounding margin.

Free Throws: Evangel has won 30 of 43 meetings between the two teams since Benedictine joined the conference and hold a 34-12 advantage overall ... Evangel head coach Leon Neal is 10th on the Division I women's basketball coaches' active wins list with 377 in his 18 seasons with the Crusaders ... Kelsey Wolfe is 18 points shy of moving into 10th place on the Benedictine all-time scoring list and is currently 5th for career 3-pointers with 136 ... Of the 11 losses for Evangel, four have come against teams ranked in the NAIA Division I Coaches' Poll as well as two NCAA Division II teams ... Benedictine is second in the HAAC in both field goal percentage offense (.391) and assists as well as scoring defense (61.2) ... Kara Blankenship is 9th on the Evangel all-time scoring list with 1,404 points, sitting 73 points out of 8th place ... Benedictine has finished in the top 4 in the conference in each of the past nine seasons.