Box Score SAN ANTONIO (Jan. 28, 2016) – St. Mary's came into the Eagles' Nest earlier this month and shot a lights-out 59.7 percent from the field to beat Oklahoma Christian. OC made sure that didn't happen again on Thursday in the rematch.
As a result, the Lady Eagles posted arguably their biggest win in their four seasons in the Heartland Conference. After blowing a 13-point fourth-quarter lead, OC rebounded in overtime and pulled away for a 75-63 win over the Rattlers at Bill Greehey Arena in a showdown of teams that entered the game tied for second in the Heartland Conference.
McKenzie Stanford – the reigning Heartland Conference women's basketball player of the week – had 23 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for OC (10-10, 7-3 Heartland), which limited St. Mary's (12-6, 6-4) to 25.3 percent shooting. The Rattlers made only 22 of 87 shots, including just one of 11 in overtime.
OC, which posted its first win at St. Mary's in four tries since joining the Heartland, remained in a second-place tie in the league standings with Texas A&M International. The Lady Eagles – who have clawed their way back to .500 after starting the season 2-7 – will visit TAMIU on Saturday afternoon.
"The girls fought hard for that one and refused to let it go in overtime," OC coach
Stephanie Findley said. "That's the kind of fight we've got to keep showing."
It was the second time in the last three games that OC beat the No. 10-ranked team in the NCAA Division II South Central Region, as the Lady Eagles downed then-No. 10 Arkansas-Fort Smith last Thursday in Oklahoma City. But this win came on the road over a team that traditionally has been one of the Heartland's best.
OC led most of the way (for 39-plus minutes) against the Rattlers and took a 45-32 lead into the fourth quarter. The Lady Eagles still led 50-39 after a 3-pointer by
Sydney Hill with 5:44 left, but St. Mary's closed strong.
A layup with 1:40 left by Stanford put OC up 56-51, but LaBraile Fields hit two free throws for the Rattlers with 1:28 left and Arysia Porter's 3-pointer with 37 seconds left tied the game.
Hill missed a layup attempt with 12 seconds left and the Lady Eagles had to withstand a St. Mary's shot for the win, which passed after Kiara Etheridge – who had 15 points and 15 rebounds – missed a jumper in the final seconds of regulation.
Stanford's three-point play nine seconds into overtime gave OC a lead it wouldn't relinquish, but the game remained close for a bit. Dezirae Elias hit two free throws to pull the Rattlers within 65-63 with 2:46 left, but St. Mary's missed its final nine shots as OC pulled away.
Stanford made two free throws with 2:38 left, and after a missed 3-point attempt by Fields, OC's
Jasmine Hinton scored on a layup at the 2:26 mark to extend the Lady Eagles' lead to 69-63. Hill's 3-pointer with 1:49 left made it 72-63 and essentially sealed the win.
"McKenzie was huge and really focused on trying to rebound," Findley said. "Sarah (Parker) was solid at the line (going 5 of 6) and Jazz came up big on defense, and late with that drive and basket. I thought the whole team was really focused in on our game plan defensively and it showed."
Stanford moved into a tie with Rachelle Poe (1987-1991) for 27th place on OC's all-time scoring list with 1,054 points. Parker had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Lady Eagles, who posted a narrow 56-55 edge on the boards. Hill had 11 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Elias had 14 points, eight rebounds and seven steals for St. Mary's. Fields scored 14 points while Porter had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Rattlers.
