Box Score CLAREMORE, Okla. (Feb. 18, 2016) – Two numbers told the story for Oklahoma Christian on Thursday at Rogers State: zero, the number of OC field goals in the first quarter, and 14, the Lady Eagles' rebounding deficit against the Hillcats.

Those numbers proved critical as the Lady Eagles lost 79-68 at the Claremore Expo Center, snapping their five-game winning streak in the series against Rogers State.

OC (12-13, 9-6 Heartland Conference) lost ground in the race for second place in the league race. OC fell to fifth in the standings, 1½ games behind second-place Texas A&M International and a half-game behind third-place St. Mary's (Texas) and Arkansas-Fort Smith. OC plays at UAFS on Saturday afternoon before closing the regular season at home against St. Edward's (Texas) and Texas-Permian Basin.

The Hillcats were more physical than OC, as evidenced by their 40-26 edge in rebounding, and shot a steady 48.1 percent from the field, including 50 percent (10 of 20) from 3-point range. Kami Bunch had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists while hitting all four of her 3-point attempts. Natasha Kindred added 18 points and Heather Roberts had 14 points on 3-of-6 shooting from behind the arc.

"We didn't respond very well to their physical play," OC coach Stephanie Findley said. "We did not respond to them pushing us around and jumping over our backs. We didn't block out. We weren't pulling rebounds down and hanging onto them. We just played real soft, I thought. We may have to go back and do some toughness drills before Saturday's game and next week.

"We just weren't mentally ready."

Rogers State (13-11, 8-8) never trailed, jumping to a quick 14-4 lead in the first five minutes as the Lady Eagles struggled to put the ball in the basket.

The only thing that kept OC close was 9-of-12 free-throw shooting during the quarter, but the Lady Eagles didn't make it back to the line again until the fourth quarter and finished the game 12-of-16.

OC missed its first 10 shots before Sarah Parker, who poured in 24 points, hit a 3-pointer 34 seconds into the second quarter to pull the Lady Eagles within 17-12, but Rogers State had five 3-pointers in the quarter and led 38-24 at halftime.

OC came out on a mission in the third quarter, going on a 12-3 run to cut the deficit to 41-36 on a 19-foot jumper by Daisha Gonzaque at the 6:41 mark. But Bunch answered with a pair of 3-pointers and Kindred added a 2-pointer to rebuild the Hillcats' lead, and by the quarter's end, Rogers State's lead had grown to 57-42. It eventually reached 20 points at 65-45 with 6:49 left.

The Lady Eagles spent the rest of the game edging closer, coming as close as 69-60 after a basket by Aisha Martin with 2:42 left. Rogers State went 8-of-10 from the free-throw line after that to hold off OC's rally.

"I really liked our effort in the fourth quarter," Findley said. "We've just got to find that and be able to consistently repeat it every game from here on out. That's what we're looking for."

Parker was the only OC player to reach double figures, although Addy Clift and Martin added nine points and Gonzaque had eight for the Lady Eagles.