Lady Bison Rout Spartans in Home Opener

SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist lacrosse won their home opener 18-3 over Missouri Baptist Saturday at the OBU Lacrosse Complex.
 
The Lady Bison (2-1) offense was firing on all cylinders, with five players scoring multiple goals. OBU opened up the game on an 11-0 run and never looked back, cruising to their second straight win. Defensively, the Lady Bison limited the Spartans (0-1) to 11 shots in their first game of the season. OBU caused 25 turnovers as a team and owned a 24-19 advantage in ground balls.
 
"It was great to open up our home schedule in front of such a big crowd. The team really put on a show, especially at the center circle," said OBU Head Coach Jordan Beech.
 
Savannah Tompkins gave the Lady Bison an early lead, scoring 52 seconds into the game for her third goal of the season. OBU kept the run going with goals by Breanna Wichert, Taryn Burks and Lauren McCormack over the next 10 minutes for a 4-0 advantage.
 
Burks scored her second goal of the game with 18:20 left in the first half on a pass from McCormack for her team-leading fifth assist. The lead was extended to 7-0 following back-to-back goals from Wichert, with McCormack picking up her second assist during the stretch.
 
OBU continued to pour it on in the first half as Allison Ingrim scored on a feed from McCormack with 16:11 remaining for an 8-0 lead. Burks scored again three minutes later, followed by two straight from Taylor Skomp to push the score to 11-0.
 
The Spartans scored their first goal of the game with 2:55 left in the opening period. McCormack gave OBU a 12-1 lead at intermission with a free position goal in the final minute of the half.
 
Following an early score by MBU to open the second half, Maysn Ungerer assisted on another Tompkins goal to run the lead to 13-2 with 26:13 remaining. The Spartans converted a free position shot and Skomp answered with her third goal. Burks converted a man-down goal with 13:34 to open up a 13-goal advantage. McCormack and Ungerer added goals in the last 6:02 for the final Lady Bison total.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Courtney Barnickle made four saves as she picked up her second win of the season. McCormack and Skomp paced the team with four goals each, while Burks and Wichert both also had hat tricks with three goals apiece. McCormack also finished with three assists and 11 draw controls, setting a new OBU single-game record in the process. Skomp contributed a team-high five ground balls and six caused turnovers.
 
"Lauren McCormack in particular dominated in every facet of the game and did a great job of creating her own shot and setting others up. Now we've got to prepare for a tough test from a nationally ranked team in McKendree," said Beech.
 
The Lady Bison continue a five-game home stand March 3 when they host No. 20 McKendree.