Box Score LAREDO, Texas (Jan. 30, 2016) – Oklahoma Christian's second overtime period in as many games didn't go quite so well on Saturday afternoon as the first one did.
The Lady Eagles rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to force OT, but Texas A&M International controlled the extra period to beat OC 66-57 in a showdown for sole possession of second place in the Heartland Conference standings.
OC (10-11, 7-4 Heartland) lost despite having two players record double-doubles and another nearly do so. Reigning conference player of the week
McKenzie Stanford had 14 points and 11 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season and her third in the past four games.
Senior forward
Aisha Martin scored 11 points to go with a career-high 13 rebounds (five more than her previous single-game best), while senior guard
Sydney Hill had 13 points and nine rebounds.
The Lady Eagles outrebounded TAMIU 53-37, but OC shot just 28.2 percent (22 of 78) from the field and only attempted 13 free throws (making 10) after entering the game leading NCAA Division II in made free throws. In the previous meeting with the Dustdevils, on New Year's Eve, OC went 26-of-26 from the line, the fourth-best free-throw shooting performance in Division II history, and won 82-78.
OC also hit just three 3-pointers in 24 attempts, while TAMIU (11-8, 8-3) hit eight of 38 from behind the arc.
"Poor overall play in the third quarter doomed us," OC coach
Stephanie Findley said. "We can't keep digging holes and expect to get out of them. Shooting poorly usually means you lose and we did."
The Dustdevils used only seven players, with three of them playing all 45 minutes and scoring in double figures. Hannah Beede scored 21 points, Keiona Mathews had 20 points and 10 rebounds and Jessica Prieto added 14 points and eight rebounds. Mathews and Prieto entered the game 1-2 in scoring in the Heartland.
OC led by as many as eight points in the second quarter before settling for a 26-24 halftime lead, thanks to a basket by Martin in the final seconds of the half. TAMIU seized control in the third quarter and led 45-36 entering the final period.
The Dustdevils pushed their lead to 48-38 on a free throw by Chelsea Salom with 7:45 left, but managed only four more points in regulation, allowing OC to rally. Stanford's three-point play with 4:06 left made it 48-44 and
Sarah Parker's layup with 1:53 left tied the game at 50-50.
Lizzie Prieto went 1-of-2 from the line at the 1:34 mark and with 16 seconds left to put the Dustdevils up 52-50, but Hill's basket with :02 left forced overtime.
Beede hit a 3-pointer in the first minute of overtime and the Dustdevils never trailed after that. OC went just 2-of-10 from the field in OT, after dominating the extra period on Thursday in a win over Heartland power St. Mary's (Texas) in San Antonio.
"We were in slow motion most of the game," Findley said. "The travel and the other overtime may have affected us more than I believed it would."
OC will host the conference leader, undefeated No. 1-ranked Lubbock Christian (Texas), on Thursday and Oklahoma Panhandle State next Saturday.
