SILOAM SPRINGS -- Senior Natalie Smith tied a season high with a game-leading 26 points, and the Golden Eagles moved to 22-0 when holding opponents under 30 percent shooting marks as the No. 13 John Brown University women's basketball team used a lopsided first quarter to defeat Texas Wesleyan, 56-43, on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 17) inside Bill George Arena.
The visiting Rams shot just 2-of-17 (12 percent) in the first quarter as the Sooner Athletic-leading defense of the Golden Eagles (23-3, 20-0 Sooner Athletic) held Texas Wesleyan scoreless for the first 9:02 of the first quarter while JBU built a 15-0 lead.
John Brown never lost the lead, but the Rams (12-14, 8-12) did whittle the gap to five in the third quarter, twice, but the hosts used back-to-back Smith treys to end the period on a 10-0 run over the final 5:08 to quickly rebuild its 15-point advantage.
Smith finished the afternoon 8-of-18 from behind the arc, just one triple away from tying the program's single-game three-point record. Senior Bella Irlenborn pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds – accounting for nearly one-third of JBU's total rebounding effort – and added nine points. Senior Leah Anderson controlled nine rebounds off the bench while junior Graci Harris passed out a career-best eight assists in JBU's season sweep of Texas Wesleyan.
The Golden Eagle depth was on full display as all nine players tallied points, feeding an 11-2 reserve scoring margin for the hosts.
TXWES' short bench still produced a pair of double-digit scorers in Mary Nyakundi and Kamryn Gibson, which contributed 13 and 12 points, respectively. Sophia Furtado finished with eight rebounds in the loss.
Despite opening the game shooting 5-of-13 (38 percent), John Brown took advantage of the Rams' 1-of-14 start inside the arc and rode a trio of Smith triples to a 19-point first quarter effort. Although JBU shot just 33 percent overall (19-of-57) and from long range (10-of-30), 15 offensive rebounds gave way to 12 second-chance points as the hosts easily won the rebounding battle, 48-35. John Brown's rebounding total was its third-highest effort of the season and the 15 offensive boards tied a season-best effort.
After the contest, the Golden Eagles were honored during the halftime of the men's game for its first-ever SAC regular season title. JBU is in its 29th season in the Sooner Athletic Conference. The current 21-game win streak is more than double the program's previous longest run.
John Brown travels next Thursday night (Feb. 22) to take on Southwestern Christian inside the Pickens-Springer Gymnasium in Bethany, Okla. The game will stream live on the SAC Sports Network, with tip-off slated for 6 p.m.
FOLLOW THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Don't miss a minute of the latest action surrounding JBU Athletics by following the Golden Eagles on Twitter (@JBUathletics), Instagram (@JBUathletics) and Facebook (/JBUathletics). Catch every Golden Eagle home game and select away games on the SAC Sports Network, available online or for download on your favorite streaming device.
