WICHITA, Kan. (Nov. 9, 2018) – Just when Midwestern State (Texas) looked like it had successfully rallied from a late six-point deficit for a win, Oklahoma Christian senior Addy Clift showed why she is an All-American.

Clift capped a 24-point performance by scoring two baskets in the final 63 seconds, including the decisive short jumper with 1.3 seconds left, to lift the Lady Eagles to a dramatic 76-75 win over Midwestern State in the season opener for both basketball teams at Fugate Gymnasium.

It was the first win in a season opener for OC (1-0) since the 2014-15 campaign and it came against a Lone Star Conference team that received votes in the Division II Sports Information Directors Association's South Central Region preseason poll.

Early on, it looked like the Lady Eagles might run away and hide from Midwestern State (0-1), as they jumped to leads of 11-0 and 14-2 in the first 4½ minutes, a run fueled by three 3-pointers from Megan Shelton and another by Maddison Collyer. But the Mustangs answered with a 14-3 run to close the first quarter and tied the game at 20-20.

After that, the game was tightly contested, with neither team leading by more than seven points. OC took a 39-37 halftime lead on a last-second layup by Tyra Peck and went up 61-56 by the end of the third quarter.

OC twice led by seven points early in the fourth quarter before the Mustangs and was up 72-66 after a basket by Clift with 5:18 left but then suffered an offensive drought. The Mustangs hit six straight free throws, including a pair by Liz Cathcart that tied the game at 72-72 with 1:31 left.

After an empty OC possession, Midwestern State's Chelcie Kizart drove for a layup, was fouled and hit the ensuing free throw to give the Mustangs their first lead since late in the first half. Kizart led her team with 15 points.

But Clift wasn't finished. Despite being bumped, she made a driving bucket with 1:03 left to pull OC within 75-74. The teams swapped steals and turnovers before Midwestern State gained possession with 36 seconds left, but the Mustangs proved unable to get off a shot in 30 seconds and that violation gave OC the ball back with 6.2 seconds left.

Coach Stephanie Findley called timeout and the Lady Eagles advanced the ball to the frontcourt. Collyer inbounded to Clift, who immediately drove down the right side of the lane and put up a short jumper that gave OC the lead again.

Midwestern State called timeout and also advanced the ball, but the Mustangs weren't able to attempt a shot in the final 1.2 seconds.

Clift's 24 points raised her career total to 1,389 points, moving her past Lindsay Wilson (1999-2002) into 16th place on OC's career scoring list. Clift also rose to No. 11 on the Heartland Conference's career scoring list, past Amanda Newton of Drury (Mo.), who had 1,382 points from 2002 to 2005.

Katie Mayo added 14 points and five rebounds while Collyer had 11 points and six assists for OC, which went 14 of 25 (56 percent) from 3-point range. For the Mustangs, Hannah Reynolds had 13 points and nine rebounds and Cathcart had 14 points. Midwestern State stayed in the game thanks to a huge advantage in free throws, going 22 of 24 while OC went just 6 of 11.

OC will face another Lone Star foe, Cameron, on Saturday at 2 p.m.