ARKADELPHIA, Ark. -- A valiant comeback by Oklahoma Baptist (6-5, 2-3 GAC) was for naught as Henderson State used overtime to defeat the green and gold 94-80 on Thursday night in Great American Conference play at the Duke Wells Center.
Jaylin Stapleton was outstanding on this evening, tying her career high with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting.
Kalifa Ford notched her 10th career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds while
Jill Leslie and
Kendall Parker each tallied nine.
In the first two stanzas, three-point shooting and turnovers were the key reason Henderson State attained a 41-31 lead at halftime. The hosts hit six shots from downtown while the Bison connected on just one which was delivered by
Kayla Highfill.
OBU's offense did hit 10-of-26 (38.5) in the first half but it also turned it over 10 times. The Reddies turned those miscues into nine points.
In the first,
Melissa Southard's layup at 3:38 had the tally at 10-9, Henderson. Over the final minutes of the period, though, the Reddies closed with a 13-5 run. HSU's final two shots were from three-point land and it boosted its advantage to 23-14.
After a brief timeout, Henderson came back in the second and maintained its double-digit lead. They would extend their lead to as many as 15 points three times. The last of those came at 2:43 when Tamia Templeton scored to make it 41-26.
OBU was able to close the scoring with five straight after that on an and-one from Stapleton and two Parker free throws. By halftime, it was 41-31 HSU.
A little more than midway through the third quarter, Henderson's lead had ballooned to 18 points. That came when Gracie Raby scored a layup at 4:52 to bring the score to 56-38.
Over the next 14 minutes of game action, the Bison came back.
Early in the fourth, a free throw by Leslie brought the tally to 65-56. OBU kept chipping away and then got to within six, 71-65, when Parker sank a three-ball at 4:22. Stapleton then scored five straight in the final minute to tie the game. The first of those points came in the left corner on a three. On the ensuing possession after Henderson missed a free throw, Stapleton drove right side and scored off the glass to tie the game.
Once in the extra session, the Reddies re-seized control. In fact, they outscored OBU 17-3. The hosts hit all but one of their six shots while the Bison made just 1-of-10.
The Bison will return to action January 6 at home versus Harding at 5:30 p.m.
