The Oklahoma Christian University women’s basketball team recorded the win against the St. Mary’s University Lady Rattlers after a fast-break layup by Sydney Hill in the final seconds of the close game Thursday.
Oklahoma Christian shot 85 percent from the charity strike to secure a 55-54 win against the Lady Rattlers. According to Women’s Basketball Head Coach Stephanie Findley, it all came down to strength at the end of the game.
“[We were] trying to think ahead three or four plays,” Findley said. “[We were] down five points with two minutes to go. I was thinking to myself, ‘we have time, but what can we do to score?’”
St. Mary’s out-rebounded Oklahoma Christian, but the Lady Eagles’ defense responded by forcing them into 30 turnovers. According to Women’s Basketball Assistant Coach Larry Truesdell, Kylee Hicks was a key defender for the night.
“I think one of the keys here that we don’t really realize is Kylie Hicks,” Truesdell said. “Her [statistics] line doesn’t look impressive, but her defensive presence is so big for us.”
The Lady Eagles were shot 30 percent from the field. According to Findley, the Oklahoma Christian’s free throws and defense kept the team in the game.
“You have to make up for it somewhere else when you are struggling on offense,” Findley said.
McKenzie Stanford scored 17 points with 10 rebounds, recording her first double-double of the season.
“I feel like I was stuck on nine [rebounds],” Stanford said. “On the offensive end, I couldn’t have done it without my teammates.”
Sydney Hill put 16 points on the board, along with five assists in 26 minutes of playing time, while Aisha Martin and Daisha Gonzaque recorded six points each.
The Lady Eagles led by only one point going into the second half. Skyler Newberry completed an alley-oop to put Oklahoma Christian ahead 25-21 with 16 minutes left in the game.
The Lady Rattlers and the Lady Eagles tied it up a total of four times before St. Mary’s took the lead with a 3-pointer, obtaining a 41-44 lead with 6:11 left in the game.
With just minutes remaining, the Lady Eagles lost control of the ball and turned it over. Stanford answered with a steal and gave Oklahoma Christian another attempt, sending Newberry to the line to make both free throws. Hill then recovered the ball and passed it off to Hinton, who scored and gave the Lady Eagles the lead with 2:40 of playing time left.
The Lady Rattlers scored and took the lead once again with 13 seconds left. Hill retorted with a fast break layup inside the paint to secure a one-point lead with two seconds remaining.
The Lady Eagles defense prevailed as the Lady Rattlers shot and missed their final shot resulting in a 55-54 win.
Oklahoma Christian will host Texas A&M International on Saturday at 1 p.m.
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