SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Building a halftime advantage hasn't been the issue of late for the John Brown University women's basketball team – maintaining it in the second half has been. That changed on Thursday (Jan. 31) night, however, as the Golden Eagles rolled its 19-point halftime advantage into a 31-point lead late in the contest in its 85-55 win over Southwestern Christian (Okla.) inside Bill George Arena.
Trading leads a total of four times early in the contest, the Golden Eagles (13-8, 9-5 Sooner Athletic) relied on freshman Kayla Nelson, who made her first collegiate start, on the offensive end as the freshman scored seven of JBU's first 11 points of the contest.
Triples from senior Baily Cameron and freshman Marta Matamala kept the visiting Eagles (9-11, 6-8) at bay until back-to-back buckets from seniors Preslea Lawson and Karina Chandra provided John Brown a five-point cushion after one.
"We were trading baskets early tonight," head coach Jeff Soderquist said. "But, we kept it simple and defensively started getting stops."
The second quarter provided the hosts all the cushion it would need as Southwestern Christian went cold, missing all eight of its field goals through the first 4:36 as the Golden Eagles built a 20-point lead, 38-18, on five triples during the stretch.
After shooting over 50 percent in the first half, JBU emptied its bench over the second half and out-scored the Eagles by seven points over the final 20 minutes of play. Ten players earned points after eight landed on the scoresheet in the first half.
While committing just one less turnover, the Golden Eagles made the visitors pay for theirs – to the tune of 31 points. SCU was able to convert 15 John Brown miscues into just nine points as SCU shot just 31 percent from the field and 30 percent behind the arc.
Making a bit of a comeback from its recent struggles from three-point range, nine Golden Eagles hit at least one triple as the squad combined for a 14-of-32 effort (44 percent) behind the arc. The 14 treys were the most in its last five outings.
Cameron eclipsed 20 points for the seventh time this season, turning in 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor. Because of the balanced offensive output, JBU needed just one other double-digit scorer – Karina Chandra. Chandra netted eight second half points to finish with 13.
Sophomore Taylor Fergen had nine boards at the end of the first half and completed the contest with 10 rebounds and five assists – helping John Brown to a 45-33 rebounding advantage. Junior Sara Williams also had five assists in the win.
Carley Frymire and Amy Tully contributed 10 points each in the setback for Southwestern Christian.
With the win, the Golden Eagles keep pace with Mid-America Christian (Okla.) and Southwestern A.G. (Texas) in a three-way tie for third place in the standings.
JBU finishes play on the week on Saturday (Feb. 2) afternoon inside Abe Lemons Arena against SAC-leading No. 12 Oklahoma City.
