Box Score OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 27, 2016) – The last time Oklahoma Christian faced Texas-Permian Basin, the Lady Eagles needed last-second free throws to get to overtime before pulling out the win. OC's margin of victory against the Falcons was considerably more comfortable on Saturday afternoon.
Senior point guard
Sydney Hill posted her first career double-double with 22 points and a career-high 10 assists and senior shooting guard
Daisha Gonzaque matched her career high with 15 points and added six assists as the Lady Eagles routed UTPB 102-45 in the regular-season finale for both teams.
The 57-point win was OC's largest since the Lady Eagles beat Hillsdale Baptist 91-21 on Nov. 10, 2008. OC (14-14, 11-7 Heartland Conference) finished fourth seed in the league tournament and will play fifth-seeded St. Mary's (Texas) next Thursday in a first-round game at Union High School in Tulsa. OC and St. Mary's split during the regular season, with each winning on the other's home court.
UTPB (6-22, 2-16) will have the misfortune of having to faced undefeated, No. 1-ranked Lubbock Christian (Texas) in the first round of the Heartland tournament.
OC, which rolled past St. Edward's (Texas) by 27 points on Thursday, shot well for the second straight game, hitting 48.1 percent (37 of 77) of its field-goal attempts. The Lady Eagles went 15-of-32 from 3-point range, a 46.9-percent clip.
"I'm really proud of the girls to put together two great shooting performances this week," OC coach
Stephanie Findley said. "It's just what you want this time of year."
Five Lady Eagles scored in double figures against UTPB. Joining Hill and Gonzaque were joined by
Sarah Parker (13 points),
Aisha Martin (12 points) and
Addy Clift (10 points).
OC never trailed, taking the lead 15 seconds into the game on a basket by Hill and never looking back. OC led 21-13 at the end of the first quarter, then opened the second quarter with consecutive 3-pointers by Martin and Parker. By halftime, the Lady Eagles' lead was 42-24.
The Falcons came no closer than 16 points in the second half as OC gradually extended its lead to 66-32 by the end of the third quarter.
Findley used a lineup of seniors Hill, Gonzaque, Martin and
Jasmine Hinton and junior
Emma Gade for much of the fourth quarter and each of them hit at least one 3-pointer in the quarter and Hill had five of her 10 assists. A 3-pointer by Gonzaque with 1:31 left put OC into triple digits on the scoreboard.
OC also limited the Falcons to 21 points in the second half. UTPB shot just 26.8 percent (15 of 56) from the field. Sierra LaGrande was the only UTPB player to reach double figures in points, with 14. Khadijah Vigil had 12 rebounds to go with nine points. UTPB point guard Niniva Taito had 10 of the Falcons' 35 turnovers.