SHAWNEE – Southern Nazarene had a dominant first quarter and it helped the fourth-ranked squad to an eventual 63-46 win over Oklahoma Baptist on Thursday at the Noble Complex.
OBU dropped to 8-9 and 5-6 in the Great American Conference while SNU moved to 17-0 and 11-0 in the league.
Key Leaders
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Jaedyn Getman scored a team-high 15 points.
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Kennedy Large closely followed with 11 points, a season-high. She was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field and made all four of her free throws.
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Parker Stevenson also added nine points and stole the ball from SNU twice.
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Jill Leslie secured two blocks and 10 rebounds.
What Went Right
● A strong third quarter. OBU was down at the break, 42-17. However, its offense was very good in the third, making six of 14 attempts (42.8%) and 7-of-8 (87.5%) from the charity stripe. With that, the Bison outscored the Storm 20-10 and got to within 13 points, 50-37.
● Large had nine of those 20 points in the third quarter for OBU.
● Free throw shooting. OBU made 12-of-16 from the foul line marking the third straight game that it hit at least 75 percent.
● Turnovers. The Bison committed a season-low eight.
What Went Wrong
● A slow start. The Bison didn't score for nearly the first six minutes of the game. By the end of the first, SNU led 20-9. The green and gold missed numerous close-range shots too and ended up making four of 16 attempts (25%).
● Offensive struggles. Southern Nazarene brought in the nation's No. 10 scoring defense allowing 54.5 points per game. That held true on Thursday as the Bison's 46 points were their second-lowest mark this season. Plus, OBU's 26.2 shooting mark was its lowest in 17 contests.
● Containing Hannah Giddey. The 6-foot-2 five-position player facilitated SNU's offense. She had game-highs in points (16), rebounds (10) and assists (8).
● Also of note, SNU hit 44.4 percent from three-point range. They made eight of 18 shots.
On the Horizon
- The Bison head to Weatherford to face the Southwestern Oklahoma State Lady Bulldogs on Jan. 27 at 1 p.m. Earlier this season, SWOSU beat OBU 59-53.
