Makenzie Brown scored 10 points off the bench for the Lady Eagles in a 62-54 loss to Rogers State on Thursday.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 12, 2012) – Katy O'Steen continued her offensive tear with 21 points but Oklahoma Christian dropped a narrow 62-54 decision to visiting Rogers State on Thursday night in the Eagles' Nest, the Lady Eagles' third straight loss.
OC (7-9, 2-7 Sooner Athletic Conference) never trailed by more than eight points and tied the game with 5:56 left at 49-49 as Andee Wayne made 1-of-2 free throws. But the Lady Eagles managed only one basket the rest of the game as Rogers State (11-6, 5-4) gradually pulled away.
OC shot 43.5 percent (20 of 46) and forced 20 turnovers by the Hillcats, but the Lady Eagles committed 29 turnovers to offset their shooting advantage. Rogers State shot 38.7 percent (24 of 62) from the field.
"I thought we played hard and gave good effort and that's a big part of turning things around," OC coach Stephanie Findley said. "Katy O'Steen and Makenzie (Brown) battled inside all night and played well. We need to get them more opportunities and quit having so many empty possessions because of turnovers."
The Lady Eagles led briefly on three occasions in the first half, the final time at 21-18 after a basket by Wayne at the 3:15 mark. Leah Smith – who led Rogers State with 19 points – hit a 2-pointer, then a 3-pointer to put the Hillcats ahead 23-21 and they never trailed again. Rogers State led 25-23 at halftime.
The Hillcats led 49-42 with 7:35 left, but O'Steen and Logan McKee hit 3-pointers to pull OC close and Wayne tied the game with her free throw. Gianna Woods made two free throws to start a 6-0 run by Rogers State and the Hillcats soon stretched their lead to 58-51 with 1:36 left.
Katy Clift's 3-pointer with 1:00 left pulled OC within 58-54 but the Lady Eagles didn't score again while the Hillcats went 4-of-6 from the free-throw line in the final 51.8 seconds to seal the win.
O'Steen went 9-of-12 from the field and scored more than 20 points for the fourth time this season and the third time in five games for OC. She also led the Lady Eagles with six rebounds. Logan McKee scored 11 points and Brown added 10 for OC.
Smith went 7-of-11 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, for Rogers State. Logan Froese added 15 points for the Hillcats.
OC will return to action Saturday at John Brown (Ark.).
