GOODWELL, Okla. -- Senior Bella Irlenborn scored 14 of her game-high 16 points in the second and third quarters, and the newly-minted No. 16 John Brown University women's basketball team used a 16-5 run that overlapped from the first to second quarter to pull away for good in a 59-41 win at Oklahoma Panhandle State on Thursday night (Feb. 1) inside Anchor D Arena.
Senior Emily Sanders splashed 3-of-4 from behind the arc to contribute 13 points, and senior Tarrah Stephens added 10 points, four rebounds and a pair of blocks as the Golden Eagles (18-3, 15-0 Sooner Athletic) maintained its undefeated mark in conference play and extended its win streak to 16.
John Brown improved to 17-0 on the season when holding its opposition under 40 percent shooting and used a stifling defense that produced 19 turnovers. JBU then converted the Panhandle State miscues into 16 points, largely fueling the season-sweeping win. The visitors also improved to 10-1 on the season when winning the battle of turnovers.
After jumping out to a quick 6-2 advantage, John Brown saw the host Aggies (2-16, 2-13) piece together a little 5-0 run to take its only lead of the game, 7-6. Sanders responded with a layup and freshman Abbey Sanders drained a triple before the end of the first quarter to build some momentum that quickly snowballed into the second stanza.
Up 11-9, freshman Briley Burns and Irlenborn hit consecutive triples, and the run continued through another Burns layup and ended with an old-fashioned three-point play from Irlenborn. The result, a 22-12 JBU lead, widened all the way to 13 before halftime, largely in part to back-to-back treys from senior Natalie Smith and Emily Sanders.
Another 13-4 run – and another six points from Irlenborn – opened the second half and placed the game out of reach for OPSU, which faced a 42-23 deficit. A low-scoring fourth quarter still produced the night's largest John Brown lead at 24, 57-33, with 7:11 remaining in the game.
Freshman Ashley Phelan and sophomore Nadia Akbar chipped in with a field goal in the final period.
JBU did shoot below 40 percent, hitting 21-of-55 from the field, but turned the ball over just five times in the win, its second-lowest turnover total of the season. The visitors also didn't allow a single Aggie free throw in the second half.
Now John Brown will turn its attention to Wayland Baptist (Texas) as the squads meet on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 3) in Plainview. The Golden Eagles handed WBU a 92-57 setback previously on Dec. 9, JBU's largest margin of victory ever in the series. This edition will be carried live on the SAC Sports Network from the Hutcherson Center, scheduled to tip at 2 p.m.
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