SILOAM SPRINGS -- A lopsided first quarter produced a 19-point lead for the Flying Queens, but the Golden Eagles battled back to within two possessions, but ultimately was unable to complete the comeback bid on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 11) as the John Brown University women's basketball team fell 71-66 inside Bill George Arena, ending JBU's six-game winning streak.
The pivotal matchup likely has a large bearing on who will clinch the fourth and final home court advantage in the upcoming Sooner Athletic tournament quarterfinals. Wayland Baptist now leads John Brown by half a game with three games remaining for JBU.
The Flying Queens (17-9, 13-7 Sooner Athletic) raced out to an early 29-15 lead after the first via a blistering shooting effort, hitting 12-of-23 from the field and 5-of-11 from behind the arc.
John Brown (18-7, 12-7) tightened up in the second quarter and played WBU within five points, 19-14, but the visitors took the nearly 20-point lead into the intermission.
The second half featured a furious Golden Eagle comeback, led by senior Tarrah Stephens (12 points) and sophomore Emily Sanders (10 points). The hosts out-scored Wayland by a 23-10 margin in the third, really limiting the game's leading scorer, Kaitlyn Edgemon, to two points in the second half.
Jenna Cooper-Jackson opened the fourth with a triple for the visitors, but a Stephens bucket in the post that was followed by a Sanders triple returned the margin back to six, 63-57. Then both teams went cold.
The teams combined to shoot 1-for-17 (6 percent) over the next 6:15 of the fourth until Sanders' bucket with 67 seconds left returned the margin to six, yet again. But with less than a minute remaining, the Golden Eagles resorted to sending WBU to the foul line, where the visitors wouldn't miss.
Wayland hit all six attempts from the line in the final minute, negating a pair of late buckets from Stephens and junior Natalie Smith.
On the afternoon, Smith led all John Brown scorers with 17 points on five triples. Stephens completed her fifth double-double of the year by generating 16 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Sanders battled for 13 points, while graduate student Maddie Altman shot perfectly 3-for-3 to finish 10 points.
Edgemon scored 22 of her 24 points in the first half for the Flying Queens. Cooper-Jackson tallied 11 of her 16 in the second half. Taylor Houston scored 10 and pulled down 12 of Wayland's 43 rebounds to complete the double-double effort.
The Golden Eagles will now turn its attention to Oklahoma City on Tuesday night (Feb. 14). In the matchup that has been rescheduled twice, the teams will tip off at 6 p.m. inside Bill George Arena in a game that will be carried live on the SAC Sports Network.
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