Despite a 12-point Rogers State University lead during the first quarter of Saturday’s conference matchup, the Oklahoma Christian University women’s basketball team overcame the deficit to defeat the Hillcats 76-63.
Three Lady Eagles finished the game in double digits, with McKenzie Stanford and Sarah Parker putting up 21 and 17 points, respectively. Sydnee Hill added 16, while Aisha Martin grabbed eight rebounds for the Lady Eagles. Jasmine Hinton recorded both a 3-point and 4-point play during the third quarter to lead her team to the victory.
“We crashed the boards, got some big rebounds and managed to get to the line,” Parker said. “We kind of had a slump in the first half with our shooting but we managed to come out stronger in the second half.”
The Lady Eagles shot 34 percent from the field in the first half, but managed to raise that number to 50 percent in the second half of the game.
“We have a tendency to start off slow and then figure out what works and just get it done,” Parker said. “I felt that we did a good job of getting inside and getting the ball to the open man. We controlled the tempo, even though we did not control the boards.”
The Hillcats outrebounded the Lady Eagles 42-39 and second-chance opportunities kept the ball in RSU’s hands until late in the forth quarter.
The Hillcats cut the lead to five with 1:30 left in the game but four fouls in the final minute allowed the Lady Eagles to keep the lead and gain the victory.
With their win, the Lady Eagles now hold a 9-10 record and are 6-3 in conference play. With back-to-back wins over Rogers State and University of Arkansas Fort-Smith, the Lady Eagles are now in a three-way tie with Texas A&M International and St. Mary’s University for second place in the Heartland Conference.
The Lady Eagles will travel to St. Mary’s University to take on the Dustdevils on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
“It’s going to be a pretty big road trip,” Parker said. “We’re going to have to work hard in practice and hopefully come out strong. I think we are ready to play St. Mary’s again and hopefully get some revenge on their court.”
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