BETHANY, Okla. - The Oklahoma Baptist women's basketball team fell to rival Southern Nazarene on Monday evening inside the Sawyer Center as a big third quarter combined with a huge rebounding advantage was too much to overcome.
OBU shot the ball well on the road, going 23 of 49 (47%) from the field and 5 of 12 (42%) from deep. However, for the second straight game, the Bison struggled at the line, going 9 of 15 (60%) and also turning it over 19 times.
Rebounding was a huge issue as well for OBU as the Crimson Storm held a massive 42-23 advantage including a 12-0 advantage in second chance points.
Southern Nazarene shot 27 of 61 (44%) from the field including 7 of 25 (28%) from deep and 11 of 13 (85%) from the line.Â
Similarly to previous contests, OBU got off to a great start, running out to a 5-0 lead thanks to three quick points from
Jaylin Stapleton and a lay in from
Andreja Peciuraite. SNU would roll back to even the game at eight, but OBU scored the next seven points thanks to a 3-pointer from
Malou Savanna and a lay in from
Kalifa Ford.
The Crimson Storm would close the half on a 10-0 run to move ahead 18-15 and pushed that to a 14-0 run, pushing the lead to seven. As both teams exchanged baskets, SNU would use the deep ball to extend the lead to nine before a 4-point play from
Kayla Highfill in the corner got it back down to five.
OBU would get it as close as four before half, but a bucket at the buzzer from SNU gave the Crimson Storm a 32-26 lead at the break.
The Bison could never seem to find their footing in the third quarter as SNU took over in the paint, outscoring OBU 22-10 in the quarter and pushing the lead to 18 at 54-36 at the end of three.
The Crimson Storm would hold onto that lead for most of the fourth quarter. OBU tried to chip away, but could not get a significant run to close the gap. The Bison would close the game on a 10-2 run, but would ultimately fall 72-60.
Stapleton had a big game, scoring 15 on 7 of 11 shooting to go with seven assists and five steals while
Charissa Price added 11 points and a steal. Ford and Highfill each scored eight off the bench while Ford pulled down five boards while Savanna had seven on a pair of 3-pointers.
Abby Niehues had a huge game with 24 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks while Emily Monaghan added 13 points and two steals. Payton Jones scored 11 off the bench to go with six boards and two blocks.
OBU returns to action on Thursday as they welcome in East Central to the Noble Complex. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. and can be seen on the Bison Sports Network.
