FT. WORTH, Texas -- Scoring 19 points in just the second half, sophomore Tarrah Stephens dominated the Ram defense in the paint and produced a career-best 32-point outing, carrying the John Brown University women's basketball team to a 70-62 win, its fifth straight, on Saturday (Feb. 13) afternoon inside the Sid Richardson Center.
Also hitting a career-best 13 field goals, Stephens pulled down a team-best eight rebounds and added a pair of assists. After starting the season 0-3, the Golden Eagles (5-3, 5-3 Sooner Athletic) have won five in a row, setting up the final week of the season that has College of the Ozarks (Mo.), a rematch at Southwestern Christian (Okla.) and a slugfest with regular-season favorite No. 14 Oklahoma City on senior day.
Shooting 40 percent from the field (23-of-53), JBU has now hit over a 40 percent clip in its last five outings after starting out the season 35 percent over its first three contests. The visitors also connected on 11 triples, and held the Rams (1-10, 1-9) to a balmy 5-of-20 from long range (25 percent).
While only nabbing four offensive rebounds, John Brown didn't need to match Wesleyan's rebounding advantage, especially after jumping out to an early 13-4 lead – courtesy of three triples – two of which coming from freshman Natalie Smith off the bench.
Armed with a solid 51-42 advantage heading into the final quarter, John Brown had to absorb a 12-4 TXWES run that saw the visitors' lead whittled to just one, 55-54. Senior leadership took over, however, as Taylor Fergen's triple with 5:15 left jump-started a game-ending 14-8 Golden Eagle rally to place the contest out of reach from the Rams. Fergen scored seven during the rally as the hosts were limited to seven empty possessions down the stretch.
Fergen finished with three triples en route to a 16-point outing and dished out a game-best five assists. While Stephens and Fergen accounted for nearly 70 percent of John Brown's offensive output, Smith came off the bench to contribute eight points and a pair of boards, while junior Maddie Altman added six points on a pair of treys.
The Rams featured a pair of double-double performances from Evie Whorley and Makayla Coy, 13 points, 10 assists and 10 points, 10 assists respectively, and was paced offensively by Hailee Walls' 16 points. Lindsey Thorpe came off the bench to provide 15 points in the loss.
JBU will return to Siloam Springs to prepare for a three-game week which kicks off on Monday (Feb. 15) evening at College of the Ozarks. The matchup is scheduled to tip at 5:30 p.m. inside the Keeter Gymnasium.
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