Box Score WICHITA, Kan. (Nov. 12, 2016) – A primary goal for Oklahoma Christian on Saturday afternoon was to limit Colorado-Colorado Springs forward Brittany Hernandez, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's preseason women's basketball player of the year.
For the most part, OC did so, but UCCS countered with sizzling 3-point shooting and pulled away for an 82-61 win over the Lady Eagles at Fugate Gymnasium in the Heartland-RMAC Challenge.
The Mountain Lions hit 14 of their 27 3-point attempts – a 51.9-percent clip – even banking one in at one point in the first quarter. That strong 3-point shooting helped UCCS (2-0) hold off a pair of rallies by OC (0-2).
OC didn't help itself by shooting just 31.3 percent (21 of 67) from the field. The Lady Eagles' top three returning scorers –
Sarah Parker,
McKenzie Stanford and
Addy Clift – combined for 15 points, while Hernandez and Anna Schwecke (off the bench) each had 15 for UCCS.
"I think we're fine," OC coach
Stephanie Findley said. "But I am baffled by the fact that we can't make 2-pointers. I'm totally baffled by that. You can tell we've lost our identity. Maybe we never found it. I don't know. It's early. We'll figure it out. We did this last year. We shot terribly in these games last year and we ended the year OK."
OC missed its first eight shots, allowing the Mountain Lions to sprint to a 12-2 lead. The Lady Eagles closed the gap to 24-19 by the end of the first quarter and pulled within 26-24 after a 3-pointer by Clift at the 5:55 mark of the second quarter. But OC managed only one other basket the rest of the half as UCCS went on a 14-2 run to go up 40-26. OC shot just 15 percent from the field (3 of 20) in the quarter.
"We were getting it inside and missing little 2-footers and wide-open layups," Findley said.
Three-pointers by Hernandez and Jen Vigil helped the Mountain Lions extend their advantage to 48-26 just 2½ minutes into the second half.
Emma Gade, who scored a team-high 13 points, fueled a 15-2 run by OC with 10 points (including two 3-pointers) and OC cut its deficit to 50-41. Parker missed a short put-back shot with 3:35 left in the third quarter and Kelly O'Flannigan answered with a 3-pointer for the Mountain Lions to start a 19-6 run that salted away the game. O'Flannigan hit all three of her 3-point attempts.
Findley subbed liberally after halftime and several players produced positive results off the bench. Junior wing
Audrey Hayes scored a career-high 11 points to go with five rebounds and four assists.
Shae Scheffler,
Hannah Holasek and
Hope Dawkins also provided energy in spurts for OC.
"I just thought we were so out of sync that I wanted to give these other people a chance to work and see what they can do," Findley said. "Emma got her offense going, and that was good to see.
Hannah Holasek did a good job on the defensive end and got some rebounds. She and Audrey gave us a lift."
Besides Gade and Hayes, the only other OC player to reach double figures in scoring was Parker, who had 10. Joey Sale had 12 points for UCCS (going 4-of-6 from 3-point range), while Vigil had 11 (hitting 3-of-6 3-point attempts).
OC's home opener will be Tuesday against cross-Edmond rival Central Oklahoma. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
