OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 27, 2022) – Oklahoma Christian coach Stephanie Findley had been waiting for a bust-out game from Ashanti Day and the freshman guard from Moore delivered for the Lady Eagles on Thursday night against Arkansas-Fort Smith.

Day poured in 34 points – the second-highest total this season by a Lone Star Conference basketball player – to go with six steals, six assists and four rebounds. But a short swoon early in the second half put OC in a hole it never quite escaped and the Lady Eagles lost 84-75 to UAFS in the Eagles' Nest.

Freshmen Kate Bradley (14 points) and Lexy Borgstadt (11 points) also came through for OC (0-13, 0-5 LSC) and the Lady Eagles improved on the turnover front, committing only 15 after having 23 against Arkansas-Fort Smith (5-13, 3-6) two days earlier on the road.

OC had trouble stopping the Lions' trio of Nya Stewart (22 points), Paige Elston (19 points, eight assists) and Mar'Shalia Lollie (18 points, 15 rebounds). UAFS outrebounded OC 42-32, grabbing 15 of those on the offensive end. The Lions had a key 18-7 edge in second-chance points.

Day's 34 points were the most in a game by an OC player since Addy Clift scored 38 in a loss at St. Mary's (Texas) on Feb. 16, 2019. The only LSC player to score more points in a game this season was Hannah Wilson of St. Mary's, who scored 37 against Minnesota State-Mankato on Nov. 27.

Day, who had scored 18 points total in six games before Thursday, played all 40 minutes against the Lions and hit 7 of 12 3-point shots while going 10 of 19 from the field. She made big shot after big shot to keep OC in the game.

"Those are the things we see her do in practice, so we know she can do them," Findley said of Day. "Now we've just got to get everybody else back doing what they do. … Not everybody had their shots going tonight. Kate and Ashanti tried to carry us and Lexy came out and played well. Those are some promising things. I think we did play better than we did the other night. I should have gotten us out of the zone (defense) sooner."

One of Day's 3-pointers came 30 seconds into the third quarter and tied the game at 37-37. UAFS then went on a 9-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Riley Hayes that gave the Lions a 46-37 edge. OC spent the rest of the game trying to close that gap.

The Lady Eagles pulled even at 72-72 on a three-point play by Borgstadt with 2:16 left, but that proved to be their last basket. A 3-pointer by Kalina Foster put UAFS up 77-73 with 1:29 left and OC missed its last four shots, three of them from 3-point range. The Lions went 7 of 8 from the free-throw line in the final 60 seconds to seal the win.

UAFS made 27 of 33 free throws (81.8 percent) – Elston went 13 of 13 – while OC was 21 of 28 (75 percent) from the line.

"Right after halftime, when they made that little run on it, it was second chances (for them) and we weren't capitalizing on our chances," Findley said. "Little breakdowns like that cost you the game, and putting them on the line 33 times. We finally shot a lot of free throws, which we hadn't been, but we're still putting them on the line, which is costing us."

The Lady Eagles face a challenging stretch of games next week, visiting No. 11 Lubbock Christian (Texas) – the defending NCAA Division II champion – on Monday before home against against regionally ranked Texas-Tyler on Thursday and No. 7-ranked Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday.

"They're three top teams, but that's the way it goes," Findley said. "We're capable. If we can get balanced scoring and get (everybody) going from outside, and people are all hitting shots on the same night, I think we can play with anybody."