Box Score TULSA, Okla. (March 2, 2018) – Addy Clift did her thing, Oklahoma Christian's freshmen played like veterans and that combination proved enough Friday afternoon to give the Lady Eagles their first postseason win as NCAA Division II members.

Clift continued her recent hot streak with 32 points, Katie Mayo had 22 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots and Delyssa Miller recorded her first career-double double with 11 points and 14 rebounds as OC led almost all the way while beating Newman (Kan.) 83-72 in a Heartland Conference Championship quarterfinal game at the Union Multipurpose Activity Center.

OC (10-17) advanced to face top-seeded, No. 2-ranked Lubbock Christian (Texas) in the semifinals at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the UMAC. The Lady Eagles also earned a measure of revenge after dropping two regular-season games to Newman (17-12) and improved their all-time series lead over the Jets to 12-4.

OC's first Heartland tournament win came in its third appearance, as the Lady Eagles fell in the opening round each of the last two seasons.

"I just feel relief," OC coach Stephanie Findley said. "We've come up here and not shot the ball well to start games off. We shot well today and that's the difference – just making shots.

"I told them to just keep the pace up. Pace is a big deal for us, too. We can't run anything, so we just run and shoot. That's what they were doing and I was just trying to stay out of the way. It worked today. Some days it doesn't work good but it worked today."

Clift now has scored 135 points in OC's last four games, raising her season scoring average to 21.6 points per game – among the top 10 in Division II and tops in the South Central Region – and vaulting her to No. 18 on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,340 points.

"I just try to tell myself to go out there and play and let God handle the rest," Clift said. "That's about it."

She went 5 of 10 from 3-point range against Newman, increasing her season total of made 3-pointers to 86. That's tied for third-best in Heartland history with her 2016-17 campaign, when she also had 86 made threes. She has 228 in her career, just six off the Heartland record now held by Lauren Unger of Texas-Permian Basin, who played from 2008-12.

"She's special," Newman coach Darin Spence said of Clift. "When she gets it going, she gets it going. You need to appreciate her because those kids … they only come around every now and then."

As important as Clift's recent run has been the development of OC's freshman class. Mayo provided an inside complement to Clift's outside fireworks and Miller's dominance on the boards helped OC build an impressive 55-37 edge in rebounding.

Freshman point guard Maddison Collyer overcame foul trouble to finish with four points, eight rebounds and five assists and another freshman, Tyra Peck, hit 3 of 4 free throws in the final two minutes before Miller sealed the win with two free throws of her own with 38.1 seconds left. Senior Audrey Hayes added nine rebounds to go with four points.

"At the beginning of the season, we had big-time freshman jitters," Mayo said. "I think that we've all cooled down. Our team is just awesome with us. I definitely don't feel like a freshman any more because I just feel like we're a huge family. I don't see any age difference in us because we get along so well."

OC trailed for all of 20 seconds, that in the first quarter. The Lady Eagles seized control with an 11-3 run that included six points from Mayo and put them ahead 16-9. Newman never fully recovered.

The Jets closed to within 18-16 by quarter's end, but they had difficulty matching OC's fast tempo after that. Clift capped a 9-2 run with a 3-pointer to give the Lady Eagles their first double-digit lead at 29-19 and Clift and Peck each hit a 3-pointer in the final 1:32 of the half to extend that margin to 45-27.

OC led by as many as 19 points, that coming at 51-32 after a basket by Mayo with 5:59 left in the third quarter. The Lady Eagles still were up 65-48 with 8:51 left in the game before Newman rallied, pulling within 76-68 after Hannah Alexander hit two free throws with 2:38 left.

Clift answered with a driving layup and the free throws by Peck and Miller kept Newman from coming any closer.

"It's been a fun adventure," Findley said. "I have not coached this many freshmen in a long time and I had a lot to relearn. I'm still doing that. We're learning things."

Clift scored 35 points two weeks ago in a seven-point loss to Lubbock Christian and Findley said the Lady Eagles will embrace the challenge of playing one of the nation's best teams.

"That was the game where I saw the difference in Addy, where Addy graduated from a junior to a senior," Findley said. "She came out after halftime and had a look in her eye that I had not seen and it's still there. I hope to keep it there."

Postgame press conference with Stephanie Findley, Addy Clift and Katie Mayo: https://youtu.be/b27DiBkeCUQ

Game highlights: https://youtu.be/P2D7wcMdBSc