Box Score BETHANY, Okla. (Dec. 6, 2016) – Sometimes it's as simple as this – if you don't hit your shots consistently, you won't win many basketball games. Such was the case for Oklahoma Christian at Southern Nazarene on Tuesday night.
OC dug itself a sizable hole by shooting 26.7 percent in the first half and, despite a third-quarter rally that provided some hope, the Lady Eagles weren't able to recover in falling 81-65 at the Sawyer Center.
SNU (3-4) snapped a four-game losing streak against OC (3-6) in the rivalry that dates back to the formative days of both programs. The Crimson Storm outrebounded OC 45-32 and shot a respectable 44.8 percent.
Reigning Heartland Conference player of the week
Sarah Parker just missed a third consecutive double-double with 19 points and nine rebounds, while
McKenzie Stanford added 14 points and eight rebounds and
Addy Clift scored 13 points for OC. But, symptomatic of the Lady Eagles' issues, that trio needed 51 combined shots to score 46 points.
A late-game surge brought OC's field-goal percentage up to 35.4 percent.
"We can't shoot and we can't play physical," an exasperated OC coach
Stephanie Findley said. "This was a physical game. They weren't letting us cut. Then we get out of our offense and we can't shoot. We just can't handle the physicality."
The Storm hit three 3-pointers in the first five minutes while building a double-digit lead. Abby Boyd hit 4-of-8 from 3-point range and led SNU with 25 points, while Adrienne Berry added two 3-pointers en route to a 12-point, 13-rebound outing.
SNU led 20-12 at the end of the first quarter and by as many as 18 in the second quarter before settling for a 39-23 halftime lead. The Storm was up 56-38 after a 3-pointer by Boyd with 2:52 left in the third quarter, but OC closed on an 11-2 run, with Clift's buzzer-beating layup off a feed from
Audrey Hayes pulling OC within 58-49.
OC was within nine at 64-55 with 4:50 left but a 9-2 run by the Storm rebuilt their lead. SNU went 8-of-8 from the free-throw line in the final 1:26 to seal the win.
"We had three offensive rebounds on 22 missed shots in the first half," Findley said. "We just weren't here mentally the first half and some of that is my fault. We're just not going to beat anybody at this level shooting in the 30-percent range."
Rachel Doerneman added 12 points and nine rebounds for SNU.
OC has two more games during this busy week – at home on Thursday at 7 p.m. against Southwestern Oklahoma State, and on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Northwestern Oklahoma State.
