Box Score DENTON, Texas (Dec. 3, 20150 – The defense most certainly was there for Oklahoma Christian on Thursday night, as the Lady Eagles' swarm forced a good Texas Woman's basketball team into 37 turnovers.
Unfortunately, the Lady Eagles were unable to take advantage on the offensive end, shooting 26.5 percent (22 of 83) from the field and falling 79-70 at Kitty Magee Arena.
OC (2-6) took 27 more shots than did Texas Woman's (6-2), but the Pioneers had an efficient shooting night, going 28-of-56 (50 percent) when they weren't turning the ball over against the Lady Eagles' ferocious defense.
It was that defense – one that has resulted in 74 opponent turnovers in OC's past two games – that kept the result somewhat in doubt almost all the way to the end. The Lady Eagles had cut an 18-point deficit with 2:44 left in half before the final buzzer sounded.
Junior forward
McKenzie Stanford led OC with 18 points, 11 rebounds and five steals to lead the Lady Eagles. Freshman guard
Addy Clift added 17 points and went 3-of-8 from 3-point range, even as OC finished 4-of-29 (13.8 percent) from behind the arc.
OC hit only one of its first 12 shots, allowing the Pioneers to take a 21-9 lead after the first quarter. But the Lady Eagles went on an 11-2 run midway through the second quarter and pulled within 27-25 on a basket by Stanford with 2:02 left before halftime.
A free throw by
Sydney Hill kept OC within two at 28-26 at the 1:04 mark, but Bri'anna Gray's 3-pointer right before halftime gave the Pioneers a five-point lead. They opened the second half with six straight points to rebuild their lead to double digits.
OC came within 43-38 on two free throws by
Aisha Martin at the 4:03 mark of the third quarter, but Emily Spector capped a 10-0 run by Texas Woman's with a put-back with 1:53 left in the quarter and OC never quite recovered.
Morgan Easley led Texas Woman's with 17 points, while Dani Westerfield had 14 and Spector and Kara Mitchell had 12 each.
The Lady Eagles will face another Lone Star Conference power in their next game, at home on Saturday afternoon against No. 4-ranked West Texas A&M.
