MONTICELLO, Ark. – Led by
Jaedyn Getman's game-high 18 points and a solid defensive effort, Oklahoma Baptist defeated Arkansas-Monticello 55-50 and earned a spot in the Great American Conference Tournament set to begin on March 2 at FireLake Arena.
The Bison clinched after their win and losses by East Central and Southwestern Oklahoma State.
With the game tied at 48 with under four minutes to go,
Madison Chambers and
Jill Leslie scored on two of OBU's next three possessions to get the breathing room needed to win.
UAM was spotted the game's first six points before OBU eventually tied it at 11-all after 10 minutes of action. Chambers scored seven of those for the Bison who ended the quarter with a deep ball from their senior point guard from Muldrow, Okla.
A period later, the Bison owned a slim 19-17 second-quarter points advantage. At one point, OBU led 26-18 after a Leslie layup at the 3:39 mark. But the end of the second favored the hosts. In fact, Monticello hit 4-of-9 from the field and pulled to within two, 30-28, at the break. OBU made one of its five shots during that time, its lone make from
Kayla Highfill with nine seconds left.
After intermission, the green and gold extended their lead to as many as nine points. OBU hit about 43 percent while holding the Blossoms to 23-percent shooting. With that, Leslie gave the Bison a 42-33 lead before freshman
Sydney Duncan did the same at the 4:10 mark (44-35). Heading to the fourth, it was 46-39.
In the final stanza, the score became tied twice within seven minutes of action. The last of those, Cyarah Kensmil's layup at 3:53, moved the scoreboard to 48-all. What followed was OBU's necessary plays to win.
Chambers found Leslie for the go-ahead bucket before a layup by Chambers at 1:14 essentially iced the game.
On Saturday, the Bison will face Southern Arkansas at 1 p.m. to wrap up their road trip.
