SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist and its defense limited the nation's sixth-leading scorer, Henderson State's Ashley Farrar, 14 points under her season average during a 61-54 Great American Conference victory at the Noble Complex on Thursday.
OBU won for the eighth consecutive game, moved its record to 9-2 and stayed atop the GAC with a 5-0 record.
Over the four quarters, the green and gold never really allowed the visitors to get into a flow. In fact, by game's end, OBU had held HSU to 32.3 percent shooting and 15.8 percent from three, Henderson's worst mark of the season.
For the Bison, four players reached double figures.
Madison Chambers went for a game-high 18 points while
Jaedyn Getman and
Erika Ankney each contributed 14. Rounding out the Bison's top individual efforts was
Jill Leslie who posted 12 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.
First-quarter action was pretty close until the Bison scored four straight to end the period.
Sierra Copeland and Ankney scored those points and the hosts led 13-9.
A quarter later, OBU extended its lead to as many as 11 points on three different occasions. The last of those came as a Leslie block led to a Chambers fast-break layup making the scoreboard 28-17 with 2:53 left until half. One of the keys to the quarter was OBU's 7-of-10 performance at the foul line.
After the break, the Bison's offense fluttered a bit and allowed the Reddies to tie the game. In the third, OBU shot 38.5 percent and watched as a 33-26 lead evaporated after a Gracie Raby jumper tied the game with 3:11 left.
While the Bison defense bent, it did not break. Henderson tied the game a few more times after that Raby bucket, however, the home squad would find the necessary shots to prevail.
Following a tying shot in the fourth that moved the tally to 43-all, the Bison reeled off eight straight. Ankney scored four of those while Chambers and Getman provided the rest. Those shots boosted the Bison's lead to 51-43 and Henderson never recovered.
Next on the schedule for OBU is another home date with Ouachita on Jan. 7 at 1 p.m.
