WAXAHACHIE, Texas -- As both teams struggled all afternoon to find any offensive rhythm, the No. 19 John Brown University women's basketball team finally pieced together a game ending 16-3 run to blow open a one-point contest to claim a 55-41 victory at Southwestern A.G. (Texas) inside the Sheaffer Center on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 13).
While the teams combined to convert just 31.8 percent of its attempts, the Golden Eagles' second major run of the afternoon proved to provide the difference, along with forcing the host Lions (6-8, 3-5 Sooner Athletic) into 26 tunovers, including 16 unforced.
What You Need to Know
» John Brown improved to 7-1 in the Sheaffer Center since 2007.
» Despite shooting just 10-of-31 from behind the arc, the Golden Eagles finished the game 4-of-5 from long range to clinch the win.
» Lexi Rich, SAGU's leading scorer at 16.0 points per game, was limited to just 5 points by the JBU defense, hitting just 2-of-9 attempts and committing five turnovers.
» Finishing 21-of-59 from the floor (35.6 percent), the Golden Eagles clinched its first victory this season when shooting below 40 percent. |
"I was very proud of how we played defense today," head coach Jeff Soderquist noted. "We played great defense for all 40 minutes. We struggled, again, offensively but I was very proud of how we finished the last six minutes of the game on offense. The girls kept plugging away until the shots started falling."
Shooting woes in Waxahachie are nothing new for the Golden Eagles (11-5, 5-2) as JBU shot just 25 percent last season in it's first-ever loss to SAGU. This year, JBU finished differently despite hitting just 35.6 percent of its chances.
Sporting just a one-point lead, 39-38, with 6:45 remaining in the contest, JBU responded by a back-door cut from senior Jana Schammel off a feed from senior Kimmy Deines, one of her team-leading five assists on the afternoon. This started a rally that SAGU couldn't respond to.
Over the first 34:25 of the contest, JBU hit just 6-of-26 from behind the arc, but Schammel's layup sparked triples from sophomore Sara Williams, sophomore Jordan Martin, Deines and finally junior Baily Cameron as the John Brown defense held the Lions to just 1-of-6 from the floor and a trio of turnovers during the game-deciding rally.
Deines was the lone double-figure scorer for John Brown, finishing with 10 points, five helpers, two blocks and three steals. Cameron added 8 points while Martin registered 7 points, including a dagger of a layup against a double-team in the middle of JBU's game-deciding rally.
McKenzie Martin notched 16 points, a game-high, and nabbed six rebounds in the loss. Kiarra Glenn added 8 points but committed seven turnovers.
The Golden Eagles return to action on Tuesday (Jan. 16) to host Bacone (Okla.) at Bill George Arena at 6 p.m. The game is the first of a three-game week for John Brown.
