Talor Ward (left) scored a career-high 23 points to lead OC past Mid-America Chrsitian 75-71.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 2, 2012) – Talor Ward scored a career-high 23 points and hit the game-clinching free throws with 3.1 seconds left, capping a game-ending 17-2 run that lifted Oklahoma Christian past Mid-America Christian 75-71 on Monday night at the Gaulke Activity Center.
OC (7-6, 2-4 Sooner Athletic Conference) trailed 69-58 with 3:36 left, but two free throws by Katy O'Steen with 3:16 left started the game-winning run, which was aided by four turnovers by MACU (7-5, 1-5). O'Steen's three-point play with 57.8 seconds left gave OC a 70-69 lead, its first advantage since the second minute of the game.
With OC up 71-69, Ward drew a charge from MACU's Parris Price with 8.2 seconds left, negating Price's basket on the play. Katy Clift hit two free throws to extend OC's lead to 73-69 before Brooklyn Bell pulled the Evangels within 73-71 with a basket.
Ward, a sophomore, followed with her free throws to seal the win. She'd entered the game having scored 30 points all season and having never ever scored in double figures for the Lady Eagles. On Monday, she went 6-of-8 from the field and 10-of-12 from the free-throw line.
"Talor made some huge plays for us," OC coach Stephanie Findley said. "We really needed that tonight."
The rally provided a nice ending to what had been a difficult day for the Lady Eagles, who lost key reserve Logan McKee to illness and had their team bus catch on fire during the trip across town to MACU. OC players arrived late to the gym for warmups and never really felt in sync until the final minutes, Findley said.
"It makes it that much better when you fight through adversity and come through," Findley said.
OC led 2-0 and 4-3, but the Lady Eagles quickly fell behind, trailing by as many as 11 points in the first half and 34-27 at halftime. The Evangels led by 13 points at 66-53 after two free throws by Price with 6:20 left but managed only two field goals the rest of the way.
"I told the team during a timeout with five minutes left that it was a five-minute game and we've got a deficit we've got to make up," Findley said. "We finally started hitting some shots and got some rebounds, and (MACU) kind of got careless with the ball."
And OC wasn't as careless, committing only 15 turnovers.
O'Steen finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Katy Clift scored 11 points for OC, including a key 3-pointer during the Lady Eagles' late rally.
Kourtni Williams led MACU with 19 points and nine rebounds, while Price had 18 points and Brittany Woodard had 10 points and nine rebounds.
