FT. WORTH, Texas -- Despite shooting 51 percent from the field and receiving a 19-point effort from freshman Tarrah Stephens, the Golden Eagles committed 19 turnovers that cost dearly as the John Brown University women's basketball team suffered an 87-72 setback at Texas Wesleyan on Thursday night (Feb. 27) inside the Sid Richardson Center.
Junior Taylor Fergen contributed three triples and hit 6-of-11 from the field to score 16 points, but the host Rams used the JBU miscues to record 31 points off the turnovers and attempted 19 more field goal attempts as the Golden Eagles will miss postseason play for the first time since 2010.
Facing an 11-point deficit at the break, the Golden Eagles (9-19, 5-14 Sooner Athletic) saw the margin grow to as many as 30 in the third quarter before the visitors responded by out-scoring the Rams by a 25-17 margin in the fourth quarter. Over the final 10 minutes of play, John Brown hit five triples and shot 9-of-15 from the field, but were only able to whittle down the Wesleyan lead to 12 before a final TXWES triple returned the difference to 15.
Stephens led John Brown by shooting 9-of-17 from the field and pulled down six of the visitors' 30 caroms. The Rams controlled the glass, however, by a 10-rebound spread and used 14 offensive boards to manufacture 14 second-chance points.
Sophomore Haley James came off the bench to provide seven points, on 3-of-6 shooting, and four rebounds in the loss.
The Ram offense featured four players in double-figure scoring, paced by Nicole Gleason's 28-point outburst. She hit 11-of-15 from the field and added six boards and five assists in the victory.
Destiny Winkfield added 17 points while Jordan Brightwell notched 15 and nine rebounds. Wesleyan's Makayla Coy also narrowly missed the double-double effort with 11 points and nine rebounds.
John Brown connected on 29-of-57 chances from the field and hit 12 triples, but only converted half of its two trips the charity stripe. Conversely, the hosts knocked down 34-of-76 from the floor, including 10 three-pointers. The Rams went 9-of-11 from the free throw line.
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The Golden Eagles will close out the 2019-20 season on Saturday (Feb. 29) in Waxahachie as JBU takes on Southwestern A.G. (Texas) at 2 p.m.
