Box Score OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 6, 2018) – Oklahoma Christian's freshmen nearly pulled off what would have been an improbable comeback for the Lady Eagles on Saturday afternoon against St. Edward's (Texas).
A trio of first-year players –
Maddison Collyer,
Katie Mayo and
Delyssa Miller – combined for 50 points and fueled a late rally that fell just short as the Lady Eagles lost 80-77 in the Eagles' Nest.
Down 14 points in the third quarter and 10 points with 3:51 left, the Lady Eagles nearly forced overtime, thanks in good part to Collyer and Mayo, who scored 20 points each. St. Edward's (8-7, 2-1 Heartland Conference) went 5 of 11 from the free-throw line in the final 1:34, allowing OC to edge closer and closer.
A put-back by Miller with 16.4 seconds left pulled OC (4-11, 0-3) within 78-75, and after Lexi Cunningham made 1 of 2 free throws for the Hilltoppers with 12.7 seconds left,
Addy Clift hit two free throws with :06 left to get the Lady Eagles within 79-77. Clift immediately fouled Bailey Hill, who made one free throw, but committed a lane violation on her second attempt.
Without a timeout, OC had to rush the ball upcourt and with the Hilltoppers shadowing Clift – OC's top 3-point shooter – the ball ended up in the hands of
Megan Shelton, also a capable long-range shooter. But with two defenders closely guarding her, Shelton's attempt from about 30 feet fell short.
"I was encouraged by the fight and effort we gave at the end, which was missing against Arkansas-Fort Smith," OC coach
Stephanie Findley said. "I'm proud of the girls for outrebounding them in the second half. We have to keep working to get better on defense. Katie and Maddison did a good job leading us today. It's exciting to see all of the young kids coming around."
St. Edward's closed the first half on an 8-0 run to go ahead 40-27. The Hilltoppers led 54-40 after a 3-pointer by Abigail Whyte with 3:05 left in the third quarter and 60-48 after a three-point play by Cunningham with 8:37 left in the game.
Collyer, Mayo and Miller combined to score the next 19 points for OC, though, slowly closing the gap to a point where the Lady Eagles had a chance to tie at the end. Rebounding played a big role – OC ended outrebounding the Hilltoppers 32-31 despite trailing 27-20 in that category at the end of the third quarter. Mayo led OC with six rebounds.
In the end, perimeter shooting proved to be the difference – St. Edward's went 12 of 21 (57.1 percent) from 3-point range, led by a 4-of-6 effort by Bailey Hill, while OC finished 3 of 14 (21.4 percent).
Isabel Hernandez led St. Edward's with 17 points, while Hill had 13, Whyte had 11 and Cunningham and Abby Hopper had 10 each.
OC will play its next five games – all against Heartland foes – on the road, starting with trips to Texas A&M International on Thursday and St. Mary's (Texas) next Saturday. The Lady Eagles won't play at home again until hosting Rogers State on Feb. 3.
Game highlights (courtesy of Eagle Media):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r734g8irHHY&feature=youtu.be
