Lady Bison Rally Falls Short

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Oklahoma Baptist trailed Arkansas Tech by as much as 15 in the first half, took a brief lead in the second half and had chances in the fourth quarter but fell 74-69 Saturday.
 
"We miss two lay-ups and three possessions in a row we turn it over and we just didn't execute when we needed to. We had opportunities," said OBU Coach Casi Bays.
 
Arkansas Tech scored the game's first 12 points and OBU trailed by as many as 15 points in the second quarter.
 
The Lady Bison bounced back to within 48-39 by halftime.
 
OBU got a layup and a three-pointer by McKenzie Cooper in a 23-second span to close the ATU lead to 54-53 with 1:38 left in the third quarter and Tasha Edge delivered the first Lady Bison lead with a three-pointer 15 seconds later.
 
The teams went to the fourth quarter squared at 59-59.
 
Arkansas Tech took a quick four-point lead in the fourth quarter and had a two- or four-point lead for most of the fourth period despite a OBU scoring drought of almost four minutes.
 
Autumn Avina broke that drought with two free throws to make it 71-69 with 1:45 to play.
 
An Arkansas Tech free throw broke their own 3:45 scoring drought for a 72-69 lead with five seconds to go. Tech then stole an OBU pass and sealed the win.
 
Edge led the Lady Bison with 20 points, followed by Autumn Avina with 15, Shaylan Coleman with 12 and McKenzie Cooper with 11. Coleman had eight rebounds.
 
The Lady Bison return home for a Thursday contest against Northwestern Oklahoma State at 5:30 p.m.