SHAWNEE – Tuesday night at the Noble Complex, Oklahoma Baptist (6-2) played smart and efficient in the fourth and rallied past Oklahoma Christian, 62-54.
It was OBU's fifth straight win, marking just the second time in the D2 era that the program attained that streak.
Madison Chambers led the team with a career-high 22 while
Erika Ankney added 15, including a 7-of-10 line at the charity stripe.
Ankney kicked off the contest with a snatched pass followed by a left-handed layup. Several minutes passed before the Eagles got their first points with a layup by Daijah Torns at 5:37. But the Bison quickly retaliated with a turnaround shot by
Jaedyn Getman making the score 8-2. From here, OBU used OCU points as fuel for fire. After the first, OBU led 15-7 with 50 percent shooting compared to OCU's 16.7.
The second showcased the Lady Eagles flying to catch up. Though OCU's Brooklyn Long secured a three-pointer, Ankney sunk a floating jumper to boost the Bison 19-10 about two minutes in. From here, turnovers and missed shots were traded for a bit before Torns landed another layup. Chambers followed up quickly with a floating jump shot and a succeeding pull-up to widen the point gap to 23-13. By half, the scoreboard read 27-18 Bison.
Early in the third, Ankney jumpstarted the team with a shot-clock-beating jumper. After that, Chambers took off with a layup from a steal and a free throw to boot. After that, the Lady Eagles rallied, giving the home crowd a bit of uneasiness. A stretch of two 3-pointers, a jumper and a couple free throws, knotted the contest 35-35. OCU's Olivia Travis secured those freebies at 3:55 tying the game.
From here, the teams went point-for-point until the Eagles took the lead, ending the quarter ahead, 43-41, after another make from Torns.
The final stanza was marked by aggressive play from both sides. With fast-paced offense, Oklahoma Christian racked up three fouls in the first five minutes while Oklahoma Baptist ran two. From here, OBU made sure to tread lightly defensively and use OCU's aggression to their advantage.
With this tactic, freshman
Sydney Duncan grabbed a pull-up and sunk two shots from the line, putting OBU back on top 56-50. Later, a big play from Ankney, a steal and subsequent fast-break and-one by Chambers, helped the Bison secure the win, 62-54.
With this, OBU boosted its record to 6-2 while the Lady Eagles dropped to 0-6.
Next on the schedule for the green and gold is another home game against Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday, Dec.10 at 5:30 p.m.
