Lady Bison First Half Wilts Blossoms

MONTICELLO, Ark. – Oklahoma Baptist exploded for 51 first half points and cruised to an 84-68 win at Arkansas-Monticello Saturday.
 
"We kind of went on cruise control on defense and let them do what they wanted late, but we started the game like we needed to and that's why we won," said OBU Coach Casi Bays.
 
McKenzie Cooper canned eight three pointers on her way to 26 points while Tasha Edge and Autumn Avina registered double-doubles.
 
Edge had 17 points and 11 rebounds while Avina scored 12 points and dished 10 assists, matching a career high.
 
Lexi Williams had 13 points and Shaylan Coleman had eight rebounds and six assists to go with eight points.
 
The Lady Bison set the tone in the first half, shooting 69 percent from the field over the first two quarters. Cooper, Edge and Williams had 11 points each in the first half as OBU turned 12 UAM turnovers into 20 points.
 
OBU led 51-33 at the half.
 
The Lady Bison withstood an 0-11 streak from the field in the third quarter before Cooper sank back-to-back three-pointers to build the lead back to 64-42 with 3:43 left in the period.
 
The Cotton Blossoms closed to within 67-53 heading into the final quarter.
 
OBU collected its first win in Monticello, capping a sweep of the trip and propelling the team into a tie for fourth in the GAC standings.
 
"We're getting better and I believe our best basketball is still ahead of us," Bays said. "This week was very huge for us and we have some big games coming up."
 
The Lady Bison return to action and the Noble Complex Thursday with a 5:30 p.m. contest against Henderson State.