OKLAHOMA CITY (Nov. 30, 2018) – After waiting so long for their regular-season home opener, the Oklahoma Christian Lady Eagles wanted to share their joy on Friday against Dallas Christian (Texas) – and they did so quite literally.
OC recorded an amazing 33 assists on 36 made baskets, shot 51.4 percent from the field and committed only eight turnovers while rolling to an easy 108-49 win over the Crusaders in the Eagles' Nest.
OC (5-3) posted the highest point total this season and the second-largest margin of victory against Dallas Christian, a National Christian College Athletic Association foe that treated the basketball game as an exhibition.
The Lady Eagles' 108 points were the most this season by a Heartland Conference team and the most points OC had scored in a game since beating St. Gregory's 123-76 three years ago to the day. The 49 points allowed were the fewest surrendered by OC since a 70-45 win over Rogers State on Feb. 16, 2017.
It also was OC's most lopsided win since a 91-21 rout of Hillsdale Baptist (now known as Randall) on Nov. 10, 2008.
The boxscore chronicled OC's dominance in all phases of the game. The Lady Eagles hit 36 of their 70 shots and 24 of their 26 free throws (92.3 percent) and blocked 12 Dallas Christian shots.
"I'm really proud of our whole team to turn in 33 assists to only eight turnovers," OC coach
Stephanie Findley said. "As a team, they have also been trying to focus on better shooting and that was the case tonight."
Leading the shooting parade for OC was freshman center
Kendall Blackburn of Edmond, who had a perfect game, going 4 of 4 from the field (including a 3-pointer) and 8 of 8 from the free-throw line en route to a career-high 17 points in only 12 minutes.
Sophomore forward
Katie Mayo scored 21 points for OC on 9-of-13 shooting to go with her seven rebounds and career-high five blocked shots in just 18 minutes.
Addy Clift had 17 points, going 3 of 7 from 3-point range, and matched her career highs with seven assists and four steals.
Megan Shelton added 11 points and
Maddison Collyer had seven points, seven assists and three steals.
Hannah Bentsen went 4 of 4 from the field and scored nine points.
Clift, a senior guard from Kiowa, continued her climb up the Heartland's career scoring list, moving into seventh place with 1,540 points. She passed Natalie Gamez, who had 1,535 points for St. Mary's (Texas) from 2005-09. Clift already holds Heartland career records for 3-pointers made (250) and attempted (671).
"It was good to see Addy getting back on track and landing seven assists of her own, too," Findley said.
OC sprinted to leads of 7-0 and 15-6 in the first 3½ minutes, by which time Dallas Christian coach Jessica Richter had already called two timeouts. The Lady Eagles scored 17 straight points later in the quarter and led 36-10 at its end and 62-23 at halftime.
Kendra Levings hit three free throws with no time on the clock to end the third quarter, making it 95-31. OC's lead peaked at 98-31 after Blackburn hit a corner 3-pointer with 8:51 left and
Ali Christie put the Lady Eagles into triple digits with a 3-pointer with 7:21 left.
The Crusaders had two players reach double figures in scoring. Shabria Walters finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Trish Daily had 14 points. Dallas Christian committed 27 turnovers, 22 of those coming on steals by the Lady Eagles.
OC will host local NAIA foe Mid-America Christian on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
Game highlights, courtesy of Eagle Media:
https://youtu.be/3tBVT8XX684
