WEATHERFORD, Okla. – Powered by solid defense and rebounding, Oklahoma Baptist defeated Southwestern Oklahoma State 72-52 on Thursday in Great American Conference play.
For the Bison, it is their first win at SWOSU since Nov. 21, 2009. Thursday's game saw the Bison crush SWOSU in the paint, outscoring the hosts 44-16 while holding a massive 55-32 rebounding advantage. Defensively, the green and gold held SWOSU to 25-percent shooting as they hit just 20 of 80 attempts.
First-quarter action brought just eight combined points through the first 5:17. With OBU holding a 5-3 lead, Avery Zinn sank a three-ball at 4:43 to give the hosts a 6-5 advantage. It would be the last lead for the Lady Bulldogs, though.
Over the final four minutes, the green and gold jumped ahead on two
Malou Savanna free throws at 3:18. At that point it was 7-6 OBU. By the end, two more free throws by
Kennedy Large made it 15-11.
In the second, the Bison were more efficient hitting 53.3 percent and pulled ahead by double figures.
Nursing a 17-15 advantage, the Bison went on a 14-3 stretch. Five different players scored baskets with
Madison Chambers and
Erika Ankney each contributing four points. By the break, it was 31-18 Bison.
After the first 20 minutes of play, the Bison outscored SWOSU 18-6 in the paint, out-rebounded the hosts 33-16 and held the Lady Bulldogs to 17.1 percent shooting.
Following the halftime intermission, Southwestern did pull within six, 35-29, after a Macy Gore layup. However, that would be the closest they would get. Once more, the Bison found a big run to inch closer to victory.
With a six-point lead at the 5:05 mark, OBU closed the third with a 15-3 stretch. Highlighting that strong run was an acrobatic layup by
Kayla Highfill who tallied six points in the third.
Fourth-quarter action saw the Bison extend their lead to as many as 24 points on two occasions. Those moments were delivered by Savanna who hit two free throws at 1:39 making the score 68-44. The last came from Highfill with a jumper in the paint (70-46).
Next on the schedule is a home game against Northwestern Oklahoma State on Dec. 3 at 5:30 p.m.
