Box Score LAREDO, Texas (Feb. 11, 2017) – Oklahoma Christian's game on Saturday afternoon at Texas A&M International seemed like a classic trap – OC was coming off a huge win over regionally ranked St. Mary's (Texas), while TAMIU was two days out of nearly knocking off Heartland Conference leader St. Edward's (Texas).
But OC's veterans would have none of it.
Sarah Parker recorded her sixth double-double of the basketball season with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while fellow seniors
McKenzie Stanford and
Hannah Holasek added 15 and 12 points, respectively, in a 73-58 win over the Dustdevils.
With its fifth Heartland road win this season, OC (13-12, 8-5 Heartland) moved within a half-game of fourth-place Lubbock Christian (Texas) and a game of third-place Arkansas-Fort Smith in the league standings with three games remaining. OC will host Rogers State on Thursday and UAFS next Saturday before visiting Lubbock Christian on Feb. 23.
The win also was the 599th of OC coach
Stephanie Findley's coaching career, meaning she'll have two chances to record milestone win No. 600 at home.
"The girls did a great job today of fighting through adversity," Findley said. "It was a very physical game and they threw some junk defenses at us but we stuck together and pulled it out. Sarah came up big knocking down threes and pulling down boards as we outrebounded them in the second half.
"Hannah hit some big shots and free throws for us while doing her usual solid defensive work against their posts. Sometimes you can let your guard down after a big win like we had Thursday. I'm proud of the girls for sticking together and fighting through it today."
TAMIU (2-21, 2-11) has only six players on its second-semester roster and sure enough, the Dustdevils played OC close for a half before fading in the second half, as the Lady Eagles' depth and experience took over.
OC led only 36-34 at halftime but Parker scored eight points in the third quarter and the Lady Eagles built their advantage to 51-39 on her 3-pointer at the 2:06 mark.
The Dustdevils closed within 53-49 with 9:05 left on a 3-pointer by Joanna Perez, but Stanford answered with a bucket and Holasek added two free throws before a 3-pointer by
Megan Shelton rebuilt OC's lead to 60-49.
TAMIU pulled within six points at 60-54 on a 3-pointer by Hannah Beede with 4:29 left, but the Dustdevils came no closer. Twelve seconds later, Holasek converted a three-point play, and she added another layup to cap a career-best scoring night before Shelton sealed the win with another 3-pointer with 2:57 left that made it 68-54.
Addy Clift added 12 points and six rebounds for OC.
"They were chasing Addy all day trying to keep her from getting the ball but she made some of her own opportunities by rebounding and getting some steals," Findley said.
Beede led TAMIU with 17 points and 16 rebounds. Perez added 16 points, while Jessica Alvarez and Rosebrooke Hunt scored 10 each.
