OKLAHOMA CITY – The Southwestern Christian University Lady Eagles took control in the first half and hung on for a 77-68 win over the Mid-America Christian University Lady Evangels in the quarterfinals of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament today (Mar. 5) at Abe Lemons Arena on the campus of Oklahoma City University.
The Lady Evangels (16-12) trailed by only one when five straight points from Kim Hayes finished off a run of 10 straight overall for SCU that suddenly made it 30-19 at the 3:06 mark of the opening half.
The Lady Eagles slightly increased the edge to 36-24 at the break.
SCU kept the Lady Evangels at bay and stretched the lead to a game-high of 16 at 59-43 midway through the second half.
Ashlee Ferguson then caught fire and brought the Lady Evangels back by scoring 10 straight points to cut the deficit to 59-53 with 8:09 left.
After the Lady Eagles answered with seven straight points to push the lead back to 13, the Lady Evangels responded back with seven in a row of their own to again claw within six at the 4:03 mark.
A three by Grace Hadley and a layup by Maranda Janz extended the lead back to 11, but Ferguson nailed two more treys to help bring the Lady Evangels as close as they'd been since the 7:49 mark of the first half, 73-68 with 51 seconds remaining.
But that's as close as the Lady Evangels would come and two free throws each from Janz and Taylor Estep put it away for the Lady Eagles and sent SCU into the SAC semifinals.
Ferguson led the Lady Evangels with a game-high 23 points and also pulled down eight rebounds. Alliyah Spatafora scored 12 points and dished out a game-high eight assists. Tierra Brown added nine points along with a team-best 10 boards.
Janz paced four Lady Eagles in double-figures with 19 points. Hayes scored 16, while Eliora Johnson had a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds. Hadley chipped in with 14 points and eight boards.
The Lady Evangels will now prepare to compete in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Central Regional Tournament, which be held Mar. 11-13 at Crowley's Ridge College in Paragould, Ark.
