OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 18, 2014) – The only time it matters to be ahead, the adage goes, is when the game is over. The Oklahoma Christian Lady Eagles proved that true on Saturday afternoon against Newman (Kan.).
OC never led until there was 2:04 left, but closed the game on an 11-1 run and stunned the Jets 62-56 at the Eagles' Nest. Freshman center McKenzie Stanford posted her second straight strong performance, scoring 19 points – six of those during the game-deciding run.
The Lady Eagles now are 6-0 all-time against Newman.
"When you get the lead, sometimes you exhale and maybe let up," OC coach Stephanie Findley said. "But the girls kept fighting. They hung on to it and extended it a little bit. I couldn't be more pleased with the effort of the whole team and how they kept fighting and kept fighting."
Newman (9-8, 6-5 Heartland Conference) led by 12 points in the first half and by as many as 11 in the second half. The Jets still led 55-50 after their last field goal, by Shekeira Copeland with 6:05 left. Newman's only point after that, however, came on a free throw by Copeland with 4:06 left.
As Newman finished the game with seven straight empty possessions, the Lady Eagles went to work. OC (8-7, 4-4) pulled even on Stanford's driving layup with 2:39 left that made it 56-56. Sydney Hill's free throws with 2:04 left put OC ahead 58-56, then Logan McKee followed with a 3-point dagger that made it 61-56 with 1:16 left.
Krista Stevens hit 1 of 2 free throws with 10.2 seconds left to seal the win. Stevens – who hit the game-winning 3-pointer against Newman in the Eagles' Nest last season – just missed a double-double, finishing with nine points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals.
"She was flying around out there," Findley said. "Krista is always our spark plug. … She is just amazing flying around the floor."
The Lady Eagles were sluggish early and Newman used a 16-4 run to jump to a 23-11 lead less than 10 minutes into the game. Findley had a theory about OC's slow start – while the Lady Eagles had to play two games this week, Newman had to play only one because OC's conference travel partner, Dallas Baptist (Texas), does not have a women's team.
"Every time we play a Saturday game, the team we play did not have to play a game on Thursday and we did," she said. "I think you saw that the first five to 10 minutes in the game. We were a little slow. Our shots were hitting the front of the rim and we were tired. They were up. They had the pep in the step and they were hitting their shots.
"We just have to kind of weather those storms and be able to finish strong. That's what the girls did today."
Newman led 35-27 at halftime and used a 6-0 run early in the second half to go ahead 41-30. The Lady Eagles scored the next eight points – with Stevens and Stanford each hitting a 3-pointer – to close the gap a bit, but OC never was able to pull even or take the lead until the final minutes.
Stanford was the only OC player to reach double digits in points, but several were close. Along with Stevens, Emma Gade had nine points, while McKee had eight and Roz Hamilton had seven to go with six rebounds. The Lady Eagles outrebounded Newman 41-33 and limited the Jets to eight offensive boards.
The conference's leading scorer, Alexandra Ciabattoni, led Newman with 17 points while Copeland had 13. The Jets managed only 21 points in the second half on 8-of-29 shooting.
OC has won consecutive games for the first time since starting the season 3-0. Findley hopes her team's momentum continues into next week, when the Lady Eagles will host the conference's second- and third-place teams, Texas A&M International and St. Mary's (Texas) on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
