Photo by: Will Gentry
The Lady Eagles basketball squad capped their four game win streak with victories over both the Dustdevils of Texas A&M-International and the Rattlers of St. Mary’s University last weekend in the Nest.
In Thursday’s game against TAMIU the team had to make a major adaptation in the second half.
TAMIU’s senior forward, Malika Jackson, scored 31 points for her team: 42 percent of TAMIU’s final score, as well as pulling down 10 rebounds.
Although Jackson was a concern for the Lady Eagles, they made the necessary adjustments.
Head Coach of Women’s Basketball Stephanie Findley had two women cover Jackson, enabling the rest of the team to step it up.
“As a team we struggled in the first half,” junior Logan McKee said. “We couldn’t figure out how to keep [Jackson] from shooting. We had to double up.”
With twice as much coverage on Jackson, Jordan Gorham came off the bench, and in the final three minutes of the game started a 12-3 run for the Lady Eagles – putting them at a 76-73 advantage.
“We knew what we needed to do to shut them down,” McKee said.
Sophomore Sydney Hill contributed with seven assists throughout; Hill tossed in a layup and then sunk both of her free throws during the final two minutes of regulation play to seal a win for Oklahoma Christian University.
Not only was this the third consecutive win this season, but the game also marked the 550th victory of Findley’s career.
The Lady Eagles carried the momentum, securing another win from the Rattlers of St. Mary’s.
The major concern was the women might lack their usual energy because of the matchup with TAMIU.
Unlike the Lady Eagles, the Rattlers hadn’t recently played.
“That was my challenge at half, the energy level,” Findley said.
Ironically, instead of slacking off and letting momentum drag, the team started to pick up in the second half, forcing the Rattlers to make fatal turnovers.
“[In] the second half, Emma Gade hit some threes,” Findley said. “She was kind of cold the first half; I think it was crucial she stepped up.”
Gade made three 3-pointers in the second half.
Because of all the turnovers and missed free throws by the Rattlers, Oklahoma Christian was able to mount a comeback during the second half of the game.
Freshman McKenzie Stanford, having recently contributed a career-high 21 points in the Lady Eagles’ game against Panhandle State University, had a solid game as well.
“I wouldn’t say I was the best, but I did figure my free throws out,” Stanford said. “That’s one thing I was worried about.”
In addition to making free throws and some 3-pointers, the Lady Eagles also grabbed a lot of rebounds – especially Hill.
After getting hit in the face and knocked down in the first half, she jumped right back into the game, fighting for rebounds and making several assists.
Both teams struggled with fouls.
During the first half the Lady Eagles had a collection of seven fouls while the Rattlers had 10.
In the second half they were tied at 10 with a total of 17 for the Lady Eagles and 20 for the Rattlers.
The Lady Eagles continued to battle, however, and the game began to speed up.
After a couple of crucial 3-pointers by Gade and freshman McKenzie Stanford, the Lady Eagles sealed their 75-66 win, completing a 4-0 home stand.
The consecutive wins provided a boost to the team, but that was not the only thing the Eagles had to celebrate this game; senior forward Roz Hamilton passed the 1,000-point scoring mark, becoming the 27th Lady Eagle to claim the honor.
“She played really well the last two games,” Findley said. “You just love to see players like that get rewarded with accomplishments.”
While the Lady Eagles celebrated Hamilton and Findley’s successes, Findley said the whole team meshed well and executed their position.
“Everyone is stepping up and playing their role,” Findley said.
Stanford accredits the Lady Eagles successes entirely on the team’s sense of camaraderie.
“We played as a whole; we played as a team,” Stanford said after the game on Thursday. “Everything we did was for the team.”
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