ADA, Okla. – The Oklahoma Baptist women's basketball team held East Central to 26 percent shooting from the field, including only two points in the third quarter, to pull away and defeat the Tigers on the road inside the Kerr Activities Center, 68-56, on Thursday evening.
The Bison shot 21-of-55 (38%) from the field as well as 11-of-29 (38%) from deep. OBU got back on track at the free throw line, going 15-of-19 (79%) and limited their turnovers to only 13 on the night.
OBU overwhelmed ECU defensively, holding the Tigers to 17-of-65 (26%) from the field and 7-of-29 (24%) from the arc. The Bison completely dominated the boards, holding a 50-39 advantage, as well as 26-8 advantage in bench points.
The Bison jumped out to a 7-0 lead behind
Kalifa Ford and
Andreja Peciuraite, as well as a 3-pointer from
Jaylin Stapleton. ECU scored five straight to get it to a two-point game before Ford scored the next four points.
Leading 11-7,
Malou Savanna found her groove, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers to end the quarter with a 17-10 lead.
East Central scored the next five points to close it to two before Savanna struck again, knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers to make it an eight-point game.
River Romine and
Jacie Engler followed with 3-pointers of their own to cap a 12-0 run and take a 29-15 lead.
ECU would close the half on an 18-6 run to make it a 35-33 game at the break.
OBU scored the first five points of the second half behind a lay in from Ford and a three from Stapleton. After a lay in from ECU, the Tigers would not score again in the quarter as OBU completely shut ECU's offense down, holding them to 1-of-16 from the field in the third.
Ford would close the quarter with five straight points to push the lead to 45-35 at the end of the third. She would then open the fourth quarter with a jumper and follow with a 3-pointer to open up a 50-36 lead.
The Bison kept their foot on the gas pedal as
Kayla Highfill scored seven points in the quarter and the OBU lead blossomed as high as 17. Late scoring narrowed the gap slightly, but the Bison left Ada with an impressive 68-56 victory.
Ford was outstanding, finishing with 18 points to go with a season-high 14 rebounds, just one off her career high, as well as three assists. Savanna added 12 points with four 3-pointers, while Highfill scored nine with three boards and three blocks.
Stapleton scored eight points and pulled down six rebounds, while Engler scored six points, to go along with five rebounds, and three assists.
Mackenzie Crusoe led ECU with 19 points and nine rebounds, while Madison Rehl scored 14 points. Kendall Schulte also added 12 points and three steals for the Tigers.
The Bison picked up their fourth win of the season and will return to action on Saturday afternoon as they welcome in Southwestern Oklahoma State for Senior Day. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. from the Noble Complex.
