DALLAS -- Senior Tarrah Stephens led a crew of three Golden Eagles that finished in double-figure scoring and the John Brown University women's basketball team used a 15-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to take a 71-52 win over North Texas at Dallas on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 4) inside Trinity Basin Preparatory.
Stephens, the two-time defending Sooner Athletic Player of the Week scored a game-high 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting, while sophomore Emily Sanders added 11 points and senior Lisa Vanoverberghe led the team with three triples to finish with 10 points. JBU has now won four straight.
Stephens completed her fourth double-double of the season by grabbing 12 rebounds. Vanoverberghe also added 10 rebounds to complete a double-double as the Golden Eagles (16-6, 10-6 Sooner Athletic) heavily out-rebounded the Trailblazers, 47-24.
After allowing 22 offensive rebounds in the first meeting of the season at Bill George Arena, the John Brown defense limited UNTD (10-9, 8-9) to just eight, and a grand total of five second-chance points.
After four ties and three lead changes in the first half, JBU carried a 28-19 lead into the intermission. The hosts rallied in the third quarter, using a 10-2 run to pull within one, 37-36. John Brown responded by closing out the third quarter with three triples – two from junior Bella Spindler and another from graduate student Maci Mains – to rebuild an eight-point lead with 10 minutes to play.
Again, the Trailblazers pieced together an offensive spurt, closing to within four, 48-44, in the first 90 seconds of the fourth. Then, a UNTD bench technical followed a shooting foul, allowing Stephens and Sanders to convert the four attempts, and with possession following the technical, graduate student Maddie Altman dropped in a layup and the Golden Eagles were off on a 15-0 run that opened up a 63-44 advantage with just under four minutes left in the game.
Stephens scored eight of her 28 points during the run that spanned 3:19 and saw JBU hit 5-of-7 chances from the field.
The Golden Eagles converted on its final three field goals, fending off UNTD and grabbing a split on the season series.
JBU shot 43 percent from the floor (25-of-58) and hit 10 triples. A rough second quarter for UNTD limited the hosts to a 34.5 percent efficiency (20-of-58) as the Trailblazers hit just 4-of-16 attempts from behind the arc.
Zyunn Cormier was the lone Trailblazer to finish the game in double-digit scoring with 15 points.
John Brown returns to action on Monday (Feb. 6) when the Golden Eagles take on Southwestern A.G. (Texas) live on the SAC Sports Network. Game time is slated for 5 p.m. inside the Sheaffer Center.
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