Box Score GOODWELL, Okla. (Feb. 7, 2015) – McKenzie Stanford managed only four first-half points on Saturday afternoon at Oklahoma Panhandle State, so Oklahoma Christian made it a point to get the basketball to its leading scorer in the second half.
Doing so turned a tight game into a comfortable win for the Lady Eagles. Stanford scored 26 of her career-high 30 points after halftime as OC pulled away for an 81-66 win at Oscar Williams Field House, completing a season sweep of Oklahoma Panhandle State.
OC (9-12, 6-7 Heartland Conference) is 11-3 all-time against Panhandle State, including a 6-0 mark since the OC joined the Heartland with the 2012-13 season.
Point guard
Sydney Hill added a season-high 25 points (on 8-of-12 shooting) for OC, teaming with
Makenzie Brown (11 points) to keep the floundering Lady Eagles afloat in the first half, during which OC blew an 11-point lead and briefly fell behind Panhandle State (3-19, 1-11) before rallying for a 29-25 lead at intermission.
Stanford, a sophomore forward from Perkins, scored on a layup nine seconds into the second half and the rout was on. She scored layup after layup, many after receiving sharp passes while she cut toward the basket. She finished 10-of-19 from the field, including a sizzling 8-of-11 after halftime.
"
Makenzie Brown's play was crucial in the first half and Stanford was unstoppable in the second," OC coach
Stephanie Findley said. "But it all started with Sydney coming out on fire and setting the tone early."
Panhandle State missed its first 14 shots, allowing OC to jump to a 12-1 lead with 13:15 left in the first half, but except for Hill (11 points) and Brown (10 points), the Lady Eagles were stagnant on offense during the first 20 minutes. The Aggies used a 21-7 run to get back into the game and went up 24-21 after a 3-pointer by Brittany Alavinejad with 3:14 left in the half.
Brown had four points in a 6-0 spurt by the Lady Eagles that gave them the lead back before halftime.
The Lady Eagles' lead grew to 23 points at 67-46 after a 3-pointer by Stanford with 4:03 left. Panhandle State – coming off its first league win of the season, on Thursday against Newman (Kan.) – made a run against OC's reserves and pulled within 69-59 with 2:04 left.
OC's starters re-entered the game and went 10-of-10 from the free-throw line in the final 2:04 to seal the win for the Lady Eagles. The Lady Eagles finished the game 25-of-29 (86.2 percent) from the line.
Kylee Hicks didn't score for OC but grabbed 11 rebounds, the second straight game during which she recorded a career high in that category. She helped OC post a 36-34 edge on the boards.
"Kylee again was great on defense and on the boards and Skyler (Newberry) hit the boards hard as well," Findley said, as Newberry finished with seven rebounds.
Kiera Waters led Panhandle State with 18 points while Sade Tutson added 14. The Aggies shot 32.2 percent from the field (19 of 59).
OC will continue a three-game road swing on Thursday, when the Lady Eagles visit Newman in Wichita, Kan.
