Road loss seals season for Lady Eagles

The Oklahoma Christian University women’s basketball team ended its season with a 56-70 loss to the University of Texas-Permian Basin on Saturday.

According to Head Coach Stephanie Findley, the Lady Eagles did not hold strong to the end of the game.

“I’m not sure there were many high points,” Findley said. “We started off pretty well in the first few minutes and then it seemed like everything started going Texas’ way and we just couldn’t get it back.”

McKenzie Stanford led with 17 points and five rebounds, while Sydney Hill contributed 15 points, three assists, and two steals. Skyler Newberry grabbed seven rebounds for the Lady Eagles, and Aisha Martin recorded seven points.

According to junior Jasmine Hinton, two players stood out during the game.

“I think Daisha [Gonzaque] was a key player today,” Hinton said. “She tried to make plays and was aggressive scoring wise. I also think Aisha [Martin] was a key player today. She kept driving in and getting fouled. We can always count on her to give us some free-throw points when she’s fouled.”

Findley said the seniors, Brown, Newberry, Kaitlyn Morris and Logan McKee would be missed.

“It always hurts to lose your seniors,” Findley said. “These seniors were great, unselfish leaders. They have come up through the ranks as role players and made their way into starting positions this year. Their hard work and encouraging personalities will be missed.”

According to Hinton, the Lady Eagles are losing some individuality that shapes their team.

“There are certain things we will miss from each senior on the court,” Hinton said. “For Logan, we will miss her 3-point shooting ability. We will miss Kat’s basketball IQ and her leadership on the court. We will also miss Skyler’s rebounding and Makenzie’s fierceness on the court.”

Findley said the most important thing they will take away from the season is persistence.

“The season started off rough but we persevered and finished up pretty strong.” Findley said. “The girls kept working and kept improving.”

According to Hinton, despite the loss, the Lady Eagles are ending on top.

“The most important thing I will take away from this season is the art of rebuilding,” Hinton said. “We had to rebuild our team a little bit when the 2014 class graduated. We also had to rebuild when we lost Logan, Emma [Gade] and eventually Jordan [Gorham] due to injury. I have also learned that I am on a team full of fighters. We had a tough start to the season but in my eyes we ended on a pretty high note.”

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