OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 25, 2020) – Oklahoma Christian proved unable on Saturday afternoon to maintain the momentum from a strong performance two days earlier.

The Lady Eagles couldn't hold onto a halftime lead, fell behind in the third quarter and never recovered, losing 79-71 to Lone Star Conference divisional rival Cameron in the Eagles' Nest.

OC (6-11, 6-7 LSC) dropped into a tie for 10th place in the league standings, with the top 12 at the end of the regular season qualifying for the LSC postseason tournament. Cameron (7-11, 6-6) moved slightly ahead of the Lady Eagles with the win, even as OC held the Aggies' leading scorer, Maighan Hedge, to eight points, more than 12 below her season average.

OC lost despite a strong performance by junior point guard Maddison Collyer, who recorded her second double-double of the season and the fourth of her career with 13 points and 12 assists, the latter the most in a game this season by a Lone Star player. Collyer committed only one turnover in 39 minutes, but OC finished with 21 turnovers as a team, leading to 20 points for the Aggies.

The Lady Eagles also made just 13 of 22 free throws (59.1 percent), including 8 of 16 in the second half.

"Once again, a terrible third quarter beat us," OC coach Stephanie Findley said. "I thought Cameron wanted it more than we did. They played with more energy and that's disappointing. Twenty-one turnovers will continue to get us beat, not to mention shooting 59 percent from the free-throw line. After such a good game on Thursday (in a win over Midwestern State), I thought we had turned the corner, but I was wrong."

OC led the game for nearly 20 minutes but never by more than six points. The Lady Eagles were up 35-31 at halftime and took their last lead at 49-47 on a 3-pointer by Collyer with 2:45 left in the third quarter. But Cameron closed the quarter on a 9-0 run, with Collyer's cousin, Logan Collyer, hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Aggies a 56-49 lead.

Three times in the fourth quarter, the Lady Eagles closed within three points, but each time, Cameron had an answer. The Aggies went 13 of 18 from the free-throw line in the final 2:43.

Three other OC players scored in double figures. Katie Mayo had 11 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots, while Kendra Levings scored 11 points and Carolyne Lawley added 10.

Stephanie Peterson scored 18 points for Cameron, hitting 11 of 13 free throws. Whitney Outon scored 12 points and Ava Battese added 10 for the Aggies.

OC will play its next three games on the road, starting next Saturday at Arkansas-Fort Smith.

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