The Lady Eagles basketball team managed to turn a close game into an 81-66 win against the Lady Aggies of Oklahoma Panhandle State University on Saturday.
According to Women’s Basketball Head Coach Stephanie Findley, Oklahoma Christian University showed added strength on the court.
“[I was] most proud of our resiliency,” Findley said. “It’s been a long weekend, but we fought off several comeback attempts by them. Sydney Hill got us off to a great start with her energy and scoring in the first half, and Makenzie Brown did a great job inside for us.”
Hill scored a season-high 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting with three steals and four assists, while Brown contributed 11 points, one assist and one steal.
The Lady Eagles fell behind Panhandle State in the first half with a little more than three minutes left until half time. Oklahoma Christian answered with a fast-break layup in the paint by Daisha Gonzaque that gave them a tight lead at the end of first half.
Findley said the second half was a turnaround point for the Lady Eagles.
“After halftime, McKenzie, Sydney and Daisha got the scoring going,” Findley said. “The second half we executed very well and were able to get just about any shot we wanted.”
Stanford recorded 26 points in the second half and contributed a total of 30 points for the Lady Eagles. Gonzaque scored eight points and provided two assists. For the second game in a row, Kylee Hicks grabbed a career-high of 11 rebounds.
According to Freshman Hope Dawkins, Hicks was a key defender for Oklahoma Christian.
“Kylee [showed] amazing momentum throughout the game,” Dawkins said.
Hicks also contributed four assists and two steals. Findley said the Lady Eagles displayed exceptional defense.
“Our team defense was excellent as we tried to keep them from driving the lane,” Findley said. “Kylee and Skyler [Newberry] were big on the boards again.”
Newberry finished with seven rebounds in her 27 minutes of playing time
With just over four minutes remaining, Stanford scored a 3-pointer that put the Lady Eagles ahead by 23 points.
There is hope in the remaining games for Oklahoma Christian, Dawkins said.
“Our goal as a team and our focus for the games we have left is to take each game at a time and do our best in those games,” Dawkins said. “[We will] work to improve, and hopefully pull a win from each of them.”
The Lady Eagles will face Newman University in Wichita, Kansas on Thursday.
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