SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Entering the game 0-3 when trailing at the half, senior Karina Chandra poured in 13 of John Brown's 34 points in the third quarter and the Golden Eagles rallied from a halftime deficit to run away with an 83-60 win over Central Christian (Kan.) on Thursday (Jan. 3) night inside Bill George Arena.
While the Tigers (1-10, 0-5 Sooner Athletic) still had a strong third-quarter showing with 19 points on the board over the 10 minute span, the Golden Eagles (8-5, 4-2) hit 8-of-12 behind the arc with five different players notching a triple to blow open a once-seven-point CCCK lead into a 60-50 advantage entering the fourth quarter.
The deep JBU bench continued to haunt the nine-man Central Christian roster as the hosts out-scored the Tigers 23-10 in the final quarter. The John Brown reserves out-scored the Tiger bench by a 24-6 margin.
John Brown easily set a season-high, pulling down 59 rebounds to control the glass. Its 22 offensive rebounds converted into 17 second-chance points. It also minimized its 24 turnovers a
Senior Karina Chandra led all scorers, pouring in a game-high 19 points, setting season highs in field goals attempted (20), triples made (4) and triples attempted (13). She also just barely missed out on the double-double by pulling down nine rebounds. Also with nine boards, sophomore Taylor Fergen again posted an impressive all-around performance, finishing with 12 points, nine boards, six assists and three steals.
Junior Jordan Martin also landed in double-digit scoring, netting 11 points and six rebounds.
After shooting a difficult 29 percent (10-of-34) in the first half, John Brown responded in the second half, hitting 55 percent (21-of-38) of its attempts from the field, including 9-of-17 from behind the arc. The visitors headed in the opposite direction, following up a 35 percent (11-of-31) first half with a 29 percent (10-of-34) mark over the final 20 minutes of play.
Lethal at times, Piper Kalthoff paces the Tiger efforts with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from long range – and added six rebounds, three assists and a trio of steals. Tania Lowe contributed 12 points while Holly Golden and Mycah McDonald each notched 11 in the loss.
Breaking a two-game skid, the Golden Eagles return to action on Saturday (Jan. 5) when it travels to Langston (Okla.) for a matchup with the new Sooner Athletic member. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m.
