Lady Eagles lose shot at post-season with loss to LCU

Kylee Hicks pulled down a career-high nine rebounds against LCU on Thursday night. — Sophomore Kylee Hicks was a key defender against St. Mary’s University on Jan. 29. *Photo by Roxi Gonzalez*

Eliminating their hope of competing in the regional or national tournament, the Lady Eagles basketball team fell short in a 69-50 loss to the Lady Chaparrels of Lubbock Christian University on Thursday.

The Lady Eagles went back-and-forth with Lubbock in the first half, leading in the early minutes of the game, but according to Women’s Basketball Head Coach Stephanie Findley, the Lady Eagles offense didn’t hold strong to the end.

“Our offense needs work,” Findley said. “I think their shot-blocking ability got to us and we quit attacking. We quit being aggressive, whether it was taking the open 3 or penetrating gaps. It’s hard to get inside when they have two of their big girls out there at the same time.”

Lubbock is one of the nation’s best shot-blocking teams. Findley said the Lady Eagles did a great job on rebounding, even if it wasn’t enough to bleed into the final stretch of the game.

“Our rebounding effort was outstanding,” Findley said. “We out-rebounded them even though they were taller than us.”

At the half, the Lady Eagles trailed close behind the Lady Chaparrels, 29-35. According to sophomore McKenzie Stanford, this is not the outcome the team was expecting.

“We started out great and were ahead, then we just couldn’t get shots to fall,” Stanford said. “We were feeling pretty good because it was still a close game. We thought we had it.”

Oklahoma Christian displayed exceptional defense, Findley said.

“I thought Kylee Hicks set the tone for us early with her energy,” Findley said. “She pulled down several rebounds early and was all over the court defensively.”

Hicks achieved a career-high of nine rebounds in 20 minutes. Sydney Hill and Jasmine Hinton each led the team with 10 points and grabbed three steals. Skyler Newberry and Daisha Gonzaque followed with eight points.

Oklahoma Christian won four of the last five games and had a shot at regionals prior to the loss. However, as Findley said, this looks like the end of the qualifying chance for Oklahoma Christian.

“We no longer have regionals or nationals to look forward to, so we have to just revert to our competitive nature and play to win every game as if it is our post-season,” Findley said. “[Our goal] is to win as many games as possible.”

The Lady Eagles will face Oklahoma Panhandle State University in Goodwell, Oklahoma on Saturday.