Box Score OKLAHOMA CITY (Nov. 28, 2016) – Too often in Oklahoma Christian's early season games, the Lady Eagles hadn't started strong, OC women's basketball coach
Stephanie Findley said, so she made it a point of emphasis before Thursday night's game against USAO.
Her players apparently listened, stepping on the gas from the opening tip and never letting up while recording a 90-51 rout in the Eagles' Nest. Coming on the heels of four games (all losses) against regionally ranked foes in the first 16 days of the season, a runaway win was a good tonic for the Lady Eagles
"We needed a win like this," Findley said. "We've played a really good schedule and it's toughened us up, but it's so disappointing not to win some of those close ones and you start doubting yourselves. This was a good one to maybe get us back on track and give us a little confidence."
Two Lady Eagles –
Sarah Parker and
McKenzie Stanford – each recorded a double-double, with Parker going for 11 points and a career-high 15 rebounds in 21 minutes and Stanford contributing 13 points and 10 rebounds in 23 minutes. Another senior,
Emma Gade, almost made it three, matching her career highs with 15 points and eight rebounds in 20 minutes.
It was the first time two OC players had posted a double-double in the same game since Jan. 30, when Stanford (14 points, 11 rebounds) and
Aisha Martin (11 points, 13 rebounds) did so in a 66-57 overtime loss at Texas A&M International. Before that, one would have to go back to Nov. 19, 2012, when Katy O'Steen (17 points, 11 rebounds) and Andee Wayne (17 points, 13 rebounds) did so in a 91-90 loss at Southeastern Oklahoma State.
Stanford, Parker and Gade helped OC (2-5) record a commanding 65-38 edge in rebounding over USAO (2-4), another thing that pleased Findley.
"I talked about it before the game," Findley said. "Because we were bigger than they were, we ought to really work to go get some boards and keep them from getting very many second chances. I don't know if they listened to me or if they decided they were going to rebound tonight."
OC never trailed against the Drovers, jumping to a 20-9 lead after the first quarter and stretching it to 41-20 at halftime, with
Addy Clift making a steal and two free throws in the final second. Clift posted her third straight strong outing, finishing with a team-high 18 points.
Clift went 5-of-6 from the free-throw line, ending her consecutive streak of made free throws at 23, including 21 to start this season. It was just five shy of the school record of 28, set by Kim Golden in 1989-90.
It was 64-32 after three quarters and OC led by as many as 45 points in the fourth quarter. Twelve of the 13 players who saw action for the Lady Eagles scored. Freshman
Megan Shelton gave OC a fifth player in double figures in scoring, matching her career high with 11 points, and three Lady Eagles recorded their first career points –
Dontasia McAfee,
Raven Watkins and
Tori Connell.
OC shot 39.5 percent (32 of 81), which didn't please Findley – "an issue in a lot of these games has been shooting percentage, and we're still not there" – but she was encouraged by OC's 19-0 advantage in second-chance points, the result of aggressive rebounding.
No USAO player reached double figures in scoring. Katy Boyles led the Drovers with nine points, while Dierra Ely had eight as USAO shot just 22 percent (13 of 59). USAO, a member of the NAIA and the Sooner Athletic Conference, counted the game as an exhibition.
OC will host another NAIA foe, Our Lady of the Lake (Texas), on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Highlights (courtesy of Eagle Media):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF3JbEVIjiA&feature=youtu.be
