OC guard Logan McKee had nine points and eight rebounds on Thursday in a 51-50 loss to St. Gregory's.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 19, 2012) – Leticia Silva scored 23 points and banked in a 3-pointer with eight-tenths of a second left, lifting St. Gregory's past Oklahoma Christian 51-50 on Thursday night in the Eagles' Nest.
OC (7-11, 2-9) led by as many as seven points in the second half but the Lady Eagles' 24 turnovers and 29.4-percent shooting (a 15-for-51 effort) eventually led to their fifth straight loss.
Katy O'Steen's basket with 1:24 left put OC ahead 49-47. After an empty offensive possession for the Cavaliers, OC turned the ball over with 29 seconds left. Jalisa Howard made 1-of-2 free throws for St. Gregory's with 17 seconds left to pull the Cavaliers within 49-48.
OC's Logan McKee rebounded Howard's miss and was fouled. McKee made her first free throw but was called for a lane violation on the second, leaving OC ahead 50-48. The Cavaliers rushed upcourt and Silva threw up a line drive that crashed into the backboard and fell into the basket, leaving OC players and coaches stunned.
St. Gregory's (12-5, 5-5) snapped a five-game losing streak and swept the season series from the Lady Eagles.
"The last shot didn't beat us," OC coach Stephanie Findley said. "The 24 turnovers and 29 percent shooting did."
Silva was the only major offensive threat for St. Gregory's, finishing 7-of-20 from the field. Heather Anderson added 10 points for the Cavaliers while Howard had nine points and 10 rebounds. The Cavaliers shot 30.5 percent (18 of 59) from the field.
The Lady Eagles started well from long range, going 6-of-14 from 3-point range in the first half, but went only 3-of-14 from 2-point range. They managed only six baskets in the second half.
Katy Clift scored 15 for OC but O'Steen, the Lady Eagles' second-leading scorer, struggled and scored only six points on 2-of-6 shooting. Carli Covalt scored 10 points for OC while McKee had nine points and eight rebounds.
OC led 22-8 after Covalt made two free throws left 8:37 before halftime, but the Cavaliers scored the next 14 points and tied the game at 22-22 on a 3-pointer by Anderson. After that point, neither team led by more than seven points. OC was up 43-36 after a 3-pointer by Clift with 8:52 left but the Cavaliers went on a 7-0 run to tie the game.
The Lady Eagles will visit Oklahoma Baptist on Saturday afternoon, followed by a trip next Thursday to No. 2 Oklahoma City University.
