Smith’s Last-Minute Triple Saves Golden Eagle Quarterfinal Comeback Effort

SILOAM SPRINGS -- Ending the game on a 12-5 run, senior Natalie Smith hit the biggest shot of the night, sinking a triple from the left elbow of the arc and the top-seeded Golden Eagles held on with a strong second-half defensive effort as the No. 13 John Brown University women's basketball team held on for a 61-57 win over Texas Wesleyan on Thursday night (Feb. 29) inside Bill George Arena in the Sooner Athletic tournament quarterfinals.

Tied for the 10th time of the night, this time at 57 apiece, junior Graci Harris found Smith for just her second triple of the night, but none more important, sending the Blue and Gold to the semifinal round after senior Emily Sanders converted on the front end at the charity stripe to give the hosts a four-point cushion.

The eighth-seeded Rams (13-16) missed two highly contested shots on the final possession as time expired.

After starting the night a sizzling 60 percent (10-of-17) from the field and 3-of-4 from behind the arc, TXWES stunned the Bill George Arena crowd by taking a 10-point lead three minutes into the second quarter. Then, the Golden Eagles woke up.

Senior Tarrah Stephens scored eight points and freshman Abbey Sanders hit a key triple as John Brown powered to a 16-4 run to close the first half, converting the double-digit deficit into a two-point lead at the intermission.

Two ties and three lead changes peppered the third quarter as neither team could pull away. Senior Leah Anderson and Stephens hit field goals in the final minute, ending a nearly four-minute drought with the teams entering the fourth quarter tied at 47 apiece.

The Rams scored five of the first seven points in the fourth, but then the JBU defense stepped up, holding the visitors to just 2-of-14 (14 percent) over the final 8:46 of the final period. Stephens netted five points during the final 12-5 run, and freshman Briley Burns connected on a deep three from the right corner to continue the Golden Eagle comeback bid.

Texas Wesleyan, after shooting 42 percent in the first half, fell to 27 percent (9-of-34) in the second half.

Stephens battled through a 10-of-24 shooting night to lead all players with 26 points, her eighth 20-point effort of the season, and grabbed nine of JBU's 43 rebounds to accompany a pair of rejections. Senior Bella Irlenborn contributed nine important points and six boards, while Smith ended with eight points. Harris dished out a game-best seven assists.

All eight Golden Eagles that saw action scored in the game.

Taryn Wills tried to will the Rams to upset bid, securing a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Kamryn Gibson's 12 points led the three TXWES scorers in double figures, as Peyton Foster came off the bench to post 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting.

While the visitors relied on mid-range shooting, JBU chose to ride Stephens in the paint and outscored the visitors 31-16 in the lane. The Golden Eagles were held to 25 percent or lower for just the sixth time this season, but still continued the program record 24-game winning streak and improving to 11-3 when hitting 40 percent of its shots or less.

John Brown advances to the semifinal round to face fourth-seeded Mid-America Christian (Okla.) with a spot in the SAC tournament finals on the line. The teams will clash for the third time this season on Monday evening (March 4) at 6 p.m. inside the Sid Richardson Center on the campus of Texas Wesleyan. The game will be carried live on the SAC Sports Network.

Tickets for the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament are conveniently available online through GoFan. An all-tournament pass provides exclusive access to all sessions.

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