Box Score LAWTON, Okla. (Nov. 21, 2015) – In the same place where Oklahoma Christian made one  of its best-ever women's basketball memories 30 seasons ago, the Lady Eagles almost had a comeback to remember on Saturday afternoon at Cameron.

The Aggies, ranked No. 5 in NCAA Division II's South Central Region, led by 21 points with 5½ minutes left, but OC came roaring back to cut the gap to just six points and, but for some missed free throws, could have come even closer.

Cameron hung on for a 68-62 win in Aggie Gym, but the Lady Eagles could walk away feeling a bit of pride, too.

"The good things are we outrebounded them and we didn't turn the ball over as much as they did, but they shot the lights out when they did shoot," OC coach Stephanie Findley said. "Our effort the last five minutes was great. I was real happy with the effort at the end. We've just got to learn to play that 100 percent of the time."

Cameron (3-1) won in good part because of reserve guard Brandi Leal, who tied a school single-game record with seven 3-pointers (in 10 attempts) and scored 21 points. Her final trey came with 6:04 left, and Cristina Soriano followed with a basket with 5:36 left to put the Aggies up 63-42.

OC (1-4) outscored the Aggies 20-5 the rest of the way after the Lady Eagles turned up their pressure defense, forcing Cameron into mistake after mistake – both turnovers and fouls. The only problem was, OC wasn't able to take full advantage, going just 11-of-21 from the free-throw line and going 1-of-5 from 3-point range in those final 5½ minutes.

The Lady Eagles outscored Cameron in every quarter but the first, when the Aggies shot to a 27-7 lead on the strength of seven 3-pointers. Poor shooting was again a problem for OC, as the Lady Eagles hit just 29.7 percent from the field (19 of 64) and 16 percent from 3-point range (4 of 25), which offset a 47-41 rebounding advantage.

OC also shot 32 free throws (hitting 20, for 62.5 percent), compared to a 4-of-12 performance at the line by the Aggies. Cameron also went 14-of-33 from 3-point range.

"We won every quarter after the first quarter," said Findley, who was in her first season as OC's coach when her team came to Lawton and set a still-standing NAIA record for field-goal percentage, hitting 39-of-49 for 79.6 percent in the 1986 District 9 title game." If we could have just scored more – not that we gave up so many in the first quarter, but if we'd just scored a little bit – it would have been different."

The Aggies led by as many as 21 points in the second quarter before OC pulled within 40-23 by halftime. OC was within 40-28 after a put-back by Sarah Parker, who led the Lady Eagles with 16 points, 11 rebounds and five drawn charges, but Cameron answered with 3-pointers by Dayla Threatt and Leal. The Aggies led 53-38 entering the fourth quarter.

Cameron's last basket, by Soriano, came with 3:22 left. In fits and starts at the free-throw line, OC chipped away. A 3-point play by Daisha Gonzaque made it 65-53 with 2:09 left. A layup by Addy Clift pulled OC within 66-60 with 40.7 seconds left.

Cameron's Charron Montgomery hit two free throws with 39.2 seconds, but McKenzie Stanford missed a 3-point attempt for the Lady Eagles at the other end. After Cameron's Brittany Hill missed two free throws with 13.2 seconds left, Gonzaque hit two for OC with four-tenths of a second left to account for the final margin.

Clift had nine points for OC while Gonzaque had eight and Hannah Holasek had seven to go with eight rebounds. Threatt scored 12 for Cameron.

The game was the first between the in-state rivals since 2000. Cameron hadn't beaten OC since November 1991 and the Lady Eagles still lead the overall series 7-4.

OC will travel west on Interstate 40 on Tuesday for a game at Southwestern Oklahoma State.