Box Score OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 19, 2015) – Back when Oklahoma Christian stood 3-9 overall and 0-4 in Heartland Conference play, fans of the Lady Eagles could be excused for not seeing a remarkable turnaround on the horizon – but just look where the Lady Eagles are now.

OC held off pesky Rogers State 73-67 on Thursday in the Eagles' Nest to move within a game of .500 overall at 11-12 and 8-7 in the conference – good for a tie for third place in the NCAA Division II league, with just three games left.

OC will host second-place Arkansas-Fort Smith on Saturday before next week visiting the two teams with which it's tied for third – Texas-Permian Basin and St. Edward's (Texas). The Lady Eagles have won eight of their last 11 games and are hitting their stride at the right time, something coach Stephanie Findley hoped would happen.

"Things were looking bleak back then," Findley said. "We had a tough start with two tough home games and a tough road trip against two good teams. We shouldn't panic at 0-4 and needed to just keep plugging away and trying to get better. That's what we've done."

Sydney Hill led the Lady Eagles with 22 points, including a dagger of a 3-pointer with 1:04 left that all but sealed the win.  Sophomore forward McKenzie Stanford added 21 points and eight rebounds, while senior center Makenzie Brown continued her late-season surge, coming off the bench to score 14 big points and grab five rebounds.

The Lady Eagles needed all of those performances to complete a season sweep against Rogers State (8-16, 6-10), which led briefly in the second half and kept the game close throughout.

"We were able to somehow fight through tonight," Findley said. "It seemed like it was just plodding along and we couldn't quite shake them. They have some good athletes that you just can't really stop and you've just got to make sure you're blocking out and not giving them second chances and not turning the ball over too much."

Hill scored eight of OC's first 13 points, staking the Lady Eagles to a 13-7 lead in the first four minutes. But just when it looked like OC might run away, the Hillcats came roaring back, scoring 11 straight points, six of them on a pair of 3-pointers by Jalissa Felici. The second one put Rogers State up 18-13.

OC answered with an 11-4 spurt to regain the lead and led 32-28 at halftime. The Lady Eagles clung to a narrow lead until a three-point play by Madison Dearmin gave Rogers State a 48-47 lead with 9:29 left. Brown (who had 10 second-half points) answered with a pair of free throws for OC, but Dearmin scored again for a 50-49 Rogers State advantage.

"Makenzie grabbed some huge rebounds and scored for us a couple of times when we were struggling," Findley said. "She's playing great down the stretch here. She was really good at Newman the other night and is just really coming into her own. For Makenzie, like the rest of this team, it's just been all about confidence. If we just keep playing and keep shooting, the confidence will come."

Jasmine Hinton swished a 3-pointer for OC to give the Lady Eagles the lead for good at 52-50 with 8:49 left, but they never could break the game open. They pushed their lead to as many as seven points, but the Hillcats pulled within 63-62 with 2:40 left after two free throws by Kami Bunch, who led Rogers State with 16 points and six assists.

Hill hit a contested 10-foot jumper with one second left on the shot clock to give OC a 65-62 lead with 2:09 left. After the teams traded turnovers, Hill nailed her 3-pointer with 1:04 left to make it 68-62.

Rogers State played the foul game after that, but Skyler Newberry hit 1-of-2 from the free-throw line for OC with 40.4 seconds left before Stanford and Hill each made a pair to keep the Hillcats at bay.

Mikaila Newton scored 15 points for Rogers State while Dearmin added 11.

OC will honor the Lady Eagles' four seniors – Brown, Logan McKee, Kaitlyn Morris and Skyler Newberry – on Saturday during the traditional Senior Day ceremony. Game time will be at 1 p.m.

"You never know what's going to happen," Findley said. "That's why you show up and play. We're just looking one game ahead to Fort Smith. We don't feel like we shot the ball very well over there or that we played well. We felt like our heads weren't in the game. We'd like to show that we can play better against them on Saturday."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB6eKDeOnHQ&feature=youtu.be