SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- The John Brown University women's basketball team kicked off the 2018-19 campaign with a 65-42 win over Crowley's Ridge (Ark.) on Saturday (Nov. 3) inside Bill George Arena.
The Golden Eagles (1-0) were led by a game-high 11 points from senior Karina Chandra on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor while senior Baily Cameron added her first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Sara Williams came off the bench to contribute 12 points, including a pair of triples, as JBU converted 23 Pioneer turnovers into 22 points.
Despite shooting 25-of-64 from the field (39.1 percent) and committing 22 turnovers of its own, a new-look John Brown squad worked through a difficult first quarter until it found some rhythm to take a lead into the intermission.
The slow start was highlighted by a game-high five-point CRC lead midway through the first quarter. Sara William's first triple of the night kept the hosts afloat until senior Preslea Lawson's bucket in the paint pulled the Golden Eagles within three at the end of one.
Back-to-back treys from Chandra and junior Jordan Martin pulled JBU on top for good, 17-12, as the hosts rallied on a 10-2 run to open the quarter. Both teams hit an offensive wall in the latter half of the quarter, as Martin's bucket was the lone JBU field goal over the final 6:10 of the half. Luckily, it put the Golden Eagles up 24-21 before John Brown took a two-point lead into the intermission.
Crowley's Ridge (0-2) struggled in the second half to the tune of 5-of-20 (25 percent) from the floor and committed 14 of its 23 turnovers in the final 20 minutes of play.
Chandra took over in the second half, converting 3-of-4 from behind the arc to score 15 of her game-high output. Williams added nine of her 12 in the second half.
The Pioneers were held without a field goal over the final 4:42 of the fourth quarter, allowing John Brown to end the game on a 15-4 run.
Alexus Taylor scored 10 points for Crowley's Ridge. Elly Burrell added seven points and a team-best five rebounds, but couldn't stop the disparity on the boards as the Golden Eagles won the battle on the glass, 44-28.
Freshmen Maddie Altman, Haley James and Kayla Nelson made their collegiate debuts in the victory.
The Golden Eagles will now rest until Thursday (Nov. 8) before returning the trip to Paragould, Ark. in its season-opening home-and-home with Crowley's Ridge. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Carter Activity Center.
