Box Score OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 8, 2015) – This one was a no-doubter, which is exactly what Oklahoma Christian needed at this point of the basketball season.
Led by their two Perkins products, sophomores
McKenzie Stanford and
Jordan Gorham, the Lady Eagles never trailed while rolling to an 86-47 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Thursday night in the Eagles' Nest.
Stanford had 23 points and seven rebounds and Gorham added a career-high 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting for OC (4-9, 1-4 Heartland Conference), which snapped a four-game losing streak while posting its third win of 30 or more points this season. The Lady Eagles held Panhandle State (2-11, 0-3) to its lowest point total of the season.
"We needed to get something going positive and
McKenzie Stanford took us on her back there early and was scoring in the first half, and it helped everybody relax a little bit," OC coach
Stephanie Findley said.
"It was a good team effort and we had some positives all across the board."
The superlatives were all across the stat sheet. Besides Stanford and Gorham, freshman
Hope Dawkins scored 12 points in only seven minutes.
Kaitlyn Morris tied a career high with four steals, and
Sydney Hill also had four steals – helping the Lady Eagles to a 21-steal outing.
Every OC player but one either scored or had at least two assists, as the Lady Eagles recorded assists on 22 of 32 baskets. OC also won the rebounding battle by a decisive 47-36 margin. OC's 43.8-percent shooting (32 of 73) was its best outing in six games.
Findley said she was most proud of the assist numbers.
"At halftime we had nine assists and I told them that in the locker room," she said. "I asked them to see how many we could go out and get and sure enough, 22. That's very good. If we can keep that up, that would be great."
OC struggled to break free of the Aggies in the opening minutes, leading only 16-13 at the eight-minute mark of the first half. But Morris swished a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to start a 13-0 run that extended OC's lead to double digits, and that's where it stayed the rest of the game.
The Lady Eagles led 40-27 at halftime, then opened the second half on a 26-4 run during the first 13 minutes. OC kept its foot on the gas all the way, with bench players continuing to run the offense and make hustle plays long after the starters exited the game.
The Aggies shot 30.6 percent (15 of 49) and committed 27 turnovers. Tatyana Bell led Panhandle State with 14 points, while Jaclyn Becker added 11.
OC will return to action on Saturday, when the Lady Eagles host Lubbock Christian (Texas), which finished 20-0 in conference play last season.
