SILOAM SPRINGS -- Senior Natalie Smith drained eight triples en route to a career-high 35 points, and the No. 13 John Brown University women's basketball team completed a perfect sweep through the Sooner Athletic regular season after taking down upstart Mid-America Christian (Okla.) on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 24) inside Bill George Arena.
In the win, the Golden Eagles (25-3, 22-0 Sooner Athletic) finished off its third come-from-behind victory of the season in which JBU was facing a double-digit deficit in the second half, using staunch defense to hold the Evangels (21-7, 15-7) to just 37 percent shooting (10-of-27) in the second half, ending the visitors' 11-game win streak in the process.
"Our bread and butter all season has been defense," head coach Jeff Soderquist noted. "We came out much better in the second half and returned to what makes this team special."
Not only did the defensive presence return in the second half, the JBU shooting from behind the arc provided a pair of runs that decimated the Evangels' lead in the season half. Powered by Smith's 5-of-6 shooting from long range in the second half alone, the hosts poured in 8-of-14 (57 percent) from behind the arc in the final 20 minutes of action, and finished the afternoon 14-of-31 (48 percent) from distance.
Six lead changes in the first quarter alone in see-saw action finished with MACU netting the final basket of the first quarter, and from there, the visitors would build and hold a lead that lasted into the early goings of the fourth quarter, outscoring the Golden Eagles 22-16 in the second period.
A pair of late triples from freshman Briley Burns kept John Brown within striking distance at the intermission.
Down 13 in the third, a quick 4:33 span produced a 12-0 John Brown, bookended by triples from Smith and freshman Abbey Sanders. Smith added a pair of mid-range jumpers in between, and quickly, JBU was within one.
The visitors would recover, however, riding some free throws and a Alexis Borgstadt trey to keep a narrow two-possession advantage entering the final 10 minutes of action. Then, Smith took over again.
On the opening possession, Smith knocked down a triple and the foul shot, and hit yet another three pointer from junior Graci Harris to complete a personal 10-0 run the began with the final shot in the third, returning the lead back to John Brown, 60-54, for the first time since the end of the first.
MACU would crawl back to within three, but the Golden Eagles closed the door with a 12-6 run over the middle five minutes of the fourth quarter, highlighted by defense that held the Evangels to 2-of-6 shooting in the most pivotal moments, and senior Tarrah Stephens went to work down in the post, netting seven points during the rally alone.
With just 73 ticks left on the afternoon, Smith hit one more triple to complete the 23-point swing and balloon the John Brown lead to 10, 75-65, leaving the visitors no time to mount a response.
During her 13-of-18 shooting performance and career-high 35 points, Smith became the program's all-time three-point shooting leader, surpassing the 275 triple record last set by Leslie Fanning '06. Including the eight treys versus MACU, Smith now stands at 281 conversions behind the arc for her career.
Stephens turned in a complete performance as JBU's other double-digit scorer, contributing 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, and adding nine rebounds and three blocks. Sanders and Burns each posted a pair of triples off the bench to provide John Brown with six points apiece in the team's second win of the season when allowing the opponent to shoot over 40 percent.
Senior Emily Sanders tied a career high with seven assists, while Harris dished out a career-best eight assists as the Golden Eagles worked to a 82 percent assist rate on field goals made.
Jaci Calvan was nearly as lethal behind the arc for the Evangels, hitting 6-of-12 from long range to lead MACU in scoring with 22 points. Shy Christopher scored 17, and Borgstadt came off the bench for 12 points on an efficient 5-of-7 effort from the field.
With the top seed locked up for the first time in program history, the Golden Eagles will return to action on Thursday evening (Feb. 29) when the squad will welcome Texas Wesleyan to Bill George Arena for the second time in 12 days for the quarterfinal round. JBU swept the season series with the Rams, and will have to win to advance to the league's final four teams set to face off in Ft. Worth from March 4-5 inside the Sid Richardson Center. Thursday's game will air live on the SAC Sports Network.
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