SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- What once was a 10-point lead for the host John Brown University women's basketball team quickly turned in favor of the visitors with a quick 12-2 run in the third and a lopsided fourth quarter as No. 10 Oklahoma City escaped Bill George Arena on Thursday (Dec. 6) night with a 67-50 decision.
The Golden Eagles (6-3, 2-2 Sooner Athletic) opened the third quarter on a 7-0 run to increase it's two-point halftime lead to 10, 38-28, but a quick 12-2 Stars run knotted the game at 40 before OCU used a 23-7 fourth quarter to run away with the contest.
The hosts held the lead for nearly 21 minutes of the contest while City needed the lead for just 11:39 to grab the win.
The vaunted City defense that entered the contest holding opponents to a 28 percent mark from the floor had a hard time with the Golden Eagles to kick off the contest as JBU built a fast 7-0 lead.
In fact, John Brown hit 41 percent from the field and exacted its own bit of defensive pressure on the Stars, entering the game averaging 79 points per game, limiting City to a 36 percent effort over the first 20 minutes of play.
The roles reversed in the second half as the City defense clamped down and kept the JBU offense to exactly a 28 percent mark from the floor, and after the Golden Eagles held a 19-16 rebounding advantage in the first half, the Stars out-boarded John Brown 25-14 and collected nine offensive rebounds.
While neither team shot well from behind the arc, the usual JBU strength never materialized in a 4-of-22 (18 percent) efficiency from long range.
Senior Karina Chandra was the only Golden Eagle to finish in double figures, scoring 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the floor. Senior Baily Cameron added nine points and freshman Kayla Nelson came off the bench to contribute eight.
Four Stars led the balanced scoring effort as Taylor LaCour netted 12 points on an efficient 4-of-7 mark from the field and added five boards. Mallory Lockhart added 11, as did Brennyn Seagler, but Seagler also posted seven boards. Taylor Sylvester also netted 10.
Now the Golden Eagles will rest and resume action on Saturday (Dec. 8) afternoon at Southwestern Christian (Okla.), weather permitting. Tip is slated for 2 p.m.
