DALLAS -- Senior Tarrah Stephens' game-high 20 points led a trio of Golden Eagle double-digit scorers as the John Brown University women's basketball team used a commanding 19-7 first quarter lead to make easy work of North Texas at Dallas in a 72-44 romp on Thursday evening (Jan. 4) inside the Trinity Basin Preparatory Athletic Complex.
With the win, the Golden Eagles (9-3, 6-0 Sooner Athletic) make history by starting out the conference season with six consecutive wins for the first time ever. John Brown joined the Sooner Athletic Conference in the summer of 1995.
Senior Bella Irlenborn shot 6-of-9 from the field and converted 5-of-6 at the line to contribute a season-best 18 points, while pulling down 11 rebounds to complete her second double-double of the season. Senior Natalie Smith poured in five of JBU's 10 triples on the evening and finished with 17 points, and now stands just two points shy of hitting the 1,000 career points benchmark.
The visitors dominated every aspect of the game, and despite finding themselves outscored 16-8 in the third quarter to bring the Trailblazer (1-5, 1-5) deficit to just eight, 46-38, JBU responded by shooting 73 percent (8-of-11) in the fourth quarter and posted a 26-6 scoring advantage to complete the 28-point victory.
Shooting 43 percent (23-of-54) overall from the field, the Golden Eagles improve to 7-0 when shooting better than 40 percent. UNTD shot 33 percent (19-of-57) from the floor, but the Golden Eagles worked 18 Trailblazer fouls into a 16-of-18 effort from the charity stripe to accompany a 43-26 rebounding advantage.
Ten offensive rebounds – four from Irlenborn – resulted in an extra 14 second-chance points for JBU.
Five different Golden Eagles posted a block in the contest, matching a season high.
Morgan Strawder tallied 15 points and secured seven rebounds for North Texas at Dallas, while Kayla James added 13 points and five assists in the loss.
Winners of seven straight – dating back to John Brown's 64-42 win over Southeastern (Fla.) on Nov. 18. Over the stretch, the Golden Eagles boast an average win margin of 30.1 points per game.
JBU will close out the two-game road trip in a date with Southwestern A.G. (Texas) on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 6) from inside the Sheaffer Center. Scheduled for a 2 p.m. tip off, the contest will be carried live on the SAC Sports Network.
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