SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- The John Brown University women's basketball team worked to build an 11-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, but a 21-4 Bluejay run over the final six minutes of the game allowed Tabor (Kan.) to steal a 73-67 decision Thursday night (Oct. 31) inside Bill George Arena.
Freshman Sarah Snodgrass led all Golden Eagles (0-1) with a double-double in her collegiate debut, finishing with 26 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 10-of-25 from the floor. Freshman Caelyn Ferguson added 16 points, hitting 7-of-13 from the field and pulling down three rebounds, while sophomore Abbey Sanders contributed 10 points, four rebounds and two assists, as the trio each played the entire 40 minutes of action.
John Brown shot 43 percent (25-of-58) from the field, and allowed Tabor to shoot 58 percent in the second half to finish at 52 percent (31-of-60). The Golden Eagles won the battle of the boards, 33-30, including an 11-5 advantage on the offensive glass in the second half. Turnovers proved critical, with JBU committing 17 compared to Tabor's 10, which led to 27 points off turnovers for the Bluejays. While both teams scored 42 points in the paint, the JBU defense held Tabor to just 4-of-18 from deep (22 percent), but Tabor scored three of its four on the night from long range in the final 90 seconds of the contest.
John Brown came out strong, building an early 12-7 lead, but the hosts fell into an 0-of-5 slump while the Bluejays hit 6-of-8 in the final five minutes to carry a 19-12 lead into the second. Snodgrass and senior Graci Harris each tallied four points, but Alyvia Owens scored seven of her eventual game-high point total as the visitors scored 15 of its 19 in the paint.
An 11-6 run, powered by a triple and a layup from Ferguson, brought JBU back into a tie, 23-23. Later, Snodgrass' and-one helped continue an 8-0 quarter-ending run sending the Golden Eagles into a 29-27 lead at the intermission.
After halftime, John Brown began a focused comeback, narrowing the gap in the third quarter. Trailing by six points with 5:19 left in the frame, the Golden Eagles went on a 17-6 scoring run led by Snodgrass, who put up nine points in the quarter and joined Sanders for back-to-back triples during the run. Freshman Riley Gottsponer's five boards and a defensive effort holding Tabor to 1-of-6 from behind the arc during the period allowed JBU to carry a five-point lead into the final quarter.
In the final quarter, Snodgrass poured in another eight points as a quick 12-6 JBU run built a game-high 11 point lead with 6:04 remaining. Then, Tabor finished the game 7-of-10 from the floor – including 3-of-4 from long range – and forced the Golden Eagles into six turnovers and a 2-of-7 slump to end the game.
Tabor's balanced attack was led by Owens, who scored a game-best 27 points on 11-of-12 shooting, adding four rebounds and three steals. Kloe Bowin and Hailey Contreras each contributed 13 points in the win.
For the first time this season, the Golden Eagles will hit the road when they travel to Oklahoma City for the annual Mid-America Christian (Okla.) Classic. JBU faces Mission (Mo.) on Friday (Nov. 8) at 5 p.m. and Cottey (Mo.) on Saturday (Nov. 9) at noon. Both matchups are set to stream on the SAC Sports Network.
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