SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- The No. 19 John Brown University women's basketball team rarely missed on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 6) and used 21 triples to set a new single-game program record to easily take out Oklahoma Panhandle State, 86-53, inside Bill George Arena.
The visiting Aggies (8-4, 1-4 Sooner Athletic) did not receive a warm welcome in its first-ever appearance inside BGA, shooting a mere 33.3 percent from the field (18-of-54) and committing 21 turnovers in the 33-point blowout.
Nine different players had a hand in setting the new program record, led by four triples from senior Luize Skrastina, three from junior Baily Cameron, sophomore Sara Williams, and senior Kimmy Deines, while freshman Taylor Fergen, junior Karina Chandra and junior Preslea Reece each added a pair. Senior Jana Schammel and sophomore Jordan Martin each registered one trey.
The Golden Eagles (10-4, 4-1) shot over 50 percent from behind the arc, knocking down 21-of-40 attempts, and needed just nine two-point field goals over the course of the contest. Four of those came from Cameron who paced JBU with 18 points, five rebounds and two blocks. Skrastina notched 16 points and Williams finished with 11 points and four assists. Chandra finished the quartet of double-digit scorers with 10 points and five caroms.
"Today was a good game, bouncing back from Thursday's big win," head coach Jeff Soderquist said. "Give them credit today – Panhandle State never gave up; they're very well-coached. Our bench has been a huge help for us. There isn't a letdown in scoring.
"Having post players that can shoot jumpers makes us very hard to guard. It opens up the floor for us."
After taking an early 5-3 lead, OPSU managed just one bucket, a triple, over the next 11:01 of play, allowing the hosts to take a massive 41-22 advantage into the break.
JBU didn't let up, shooting 51.5 percent in the second half to build a lead as large as 37, 66-26, in the third quarter.
Panhandle had a pair of bright spots, however, as Addison Munsch dropped a game-high 20 points and nabbed eight boards while teammate Madison Dearmin scored 17 and grabbed seven caroms in the loss.
After a run of four-straight home games dating back to last semester, the Golden Eagles will now take it to the road, traveling to the Dallas-Ft. Worth area for a pair of contests next week. On Thursday (Jan. 11) JBU will take on Texas Wesleyan before finishing up at Southwestern A.G. (Texas) on Saturday afternoon.
