SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- In a back-and-forth battle that saw 11 lead changes, the John Brown University women's basketball team finally built a 12-point lead late in the fourth quarter and hung on to an 84-80 win over Bacone (Okla.) inside Bill George Arena on Tuesday night (Jan. 16).
Attempting 19 more shots from the field than the Golden Eagles (74-55), the Warriors (11-6, 3-5 Sooner Athletic) stayed in the contest using 18 offensive rebounds while enjoying a 31-point performance from Samantha Jackson, a season-high, but 14 John Brown triples and back-to-back buckets from junior Baily Cameron in the post iced the game in the final 65 seconds as the Golden Eagles (12-5, 6-2) won its fifth game in its last six chances.
What You Need to Know
» John Brown hit at least 14 triples for the sixth time this season.
» The Warriors fall to 0-6 all-time against JBU as Sooner Athletic opponents, but tonight's four-point loss was by far the closest contest as John Brown held a 12.4 point margin of victory average in the previous five meetings.
» Junior Baily Cameron finished over the 20-point mark for the fifth time this season, including the second time in three games.
» Finishing with nine assists, junior Kimmy Deines not only tied a career-high, but it was the most assists by a single Golden Eagles in an SAC contest since Eliana Fernandez's 10 helpers against Southwestern A.G. (Texas) on March 4, 2015. |
"Bacone leads the nation in offensive rebounds, they're number two in steals and they average 18 offensive rebounds a game," head coach Jeff Soderquist alluded. "They're much improved over last year; they have some returning players this year and they've gotten better. I thought we did pretty well except for giving up 18 offensive rebounds, which was disappointing. Give them credit, they hit shots. We need to learn how to handle that a little better and finish stronger.
"Kimmy is playing like a senior, like a player who's been in the program for four years. I'm awful proud of her. She's by far our best defender, and night in and night out, she's guarding the other team's best player."
Although Jackson led all players with 31 points and 12 rebounds, her sixth double-double of the year, JBU countered with the one-two punch of Cameron and senior Kimmy Deines as Cameron posted 26 points and seven rebounds on a very efficient 8-of-10 shooting from the floor, including converting 7-of-10 from the charity stripe. Deines, meanwhile, tied a career-high with 9 assists, and scored 15 points to land in double figures in her second-straight game.
Bacone made its last rally count, posting a 15-4 run to close a 75-63 deficit to a manageable 79-78 score, but Cameron's splitting of the defense and hitting a second-straight shot in the post with just 29 seconds left cemented the victory as the Warriors missed their last three field goal attempts.
Cameron scored 12 of her team-best 26 in the fourth quarter alone.
The Golden Eagles improve to 8-3 at home on the season and pull into a three-way tie for second place in the SAC standings with Science & Arts (Okla.) and Wayland Baptist (Texas). JBU returns to action on Thursday (Jan. 18) in Chickasha, Okla., for a 6 p.m. tipoff at USAO.
