SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Facing a four-point deficit late in the second half, junior Taylor Fergen's personal 5-0 run quickly reversed the tide and the Golden Eagles, behind a hot shooting performance, finished off the game perfect from the line as the John Brown University women's basketball team took an 84-79 win over Langston (Okla.) on Thursday night (Feb. 6) inside Bill George Arena.
Armed with a 73-69 lead with 3:21 left in the game, Langston hoped to ride its lopsided rebounding advantage to a win, but Fergen and the John Brown defense had different thoughts. A pair of Fergen free throws tied the game at 73 apiece and with just 90 seconds left in the contest, her triple that followed a bucket down low changed the lead for the ninth time and this time, for good.
Now with a 78-75 lead, JBU hit all six free throw attempts in the final minute and kept the visiting Lions to just one field goal over the final 3:21 of the game. With the victory, the Golden Eagles (8-15, 4-10 Sooner Athletic) pulled within a half game of Langston for the eighth and final spot in the Sooner Athletic tournament.
Five Golden Eagles finished in double-figure scoring, led by Fergen's 15 points and three assists. She finished the game 4-of-6 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 from the line. Freshman Tarrah Stephens contributed 12 points, as did sophomore Haley James off the bench. Senior Ally Teague supplied a pair of triples en route to an 11-point outing, while sophomore Marta Matamala added 10.
After eight straight games hitting fewer than half of its field goal attempts, the Golden Eagles busted out of an offensive slump and shot 24-of-42 (57 percent) from the floor and converted on an efficient 9-of-16 effort from behind the arc.
The visitors had absolutely control of the boards early on, including 13 offensive rebounds in the first half. Twenty-two eventual offensive caroms contributed to 19 second-chance points as the Lions held a 36-27 rebounding advantage over John Brown, but the Golden Eagle bench came to the rescue, out-scoring the Langston reserves 36-15.
Facing a seven-point halftime deficit, 42-35, JBU rallied for its second win of the season when trailing at the half behind a 60 percent shooting mark (15-of-25) from the field and a perfect 12-of-12 effort from the charity stripe. The Golden Eagle defense forced the Lions into 12 second-half turnovers and narrowed the visitors' rebounding effort in the final 20 minutes to just a 17-15 margin.
Talia Edwards hit 12-of-17 from the floor to lead all scorers with 26 points for the Lions and also contributed 11 rebounds for the double-double. Jailynn Lawson added 13 points while the conference's leading scorer, Asheika Alexander was limited to 12 points before fouling out and was held scoreless in the second half. She entered the contest averaging north of 20 points per game.
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The Golden Eagles will now rest before its toughest road test of the season next Thursday (Feb. 13). JBU will travel to Oklahoma City to face the No. 1 Stars in a 6 p.m. tip-off.
