Women's Basketball Bumped from Third Seed in Overtime Thriller
SHAWNEE, Okla. -- Sophomore Jana Schammel hit a pair of triples in the final 15 seconds to force overtime, but the John Brown womens basketball team (16-13, 9-8 SAC) lost a lead in overtime and fell at St. Gregorys (Okla.) by an 81-77 final on Thursday (Feb. 25) evening inside the Sumner Fieldhouse.
Leading by as many as eight points late in the third quarter, the Golden Eagles allowed the Cavaliers to come all the way back and take a lead as large as five, 63-58, when Denisha Lundys jumper completed the 13-point turnaround. Junior Kodee Powell hit a triple on the ensuing possession and freshman Baily Cameron hit a layup at the 2:58 mark to pull John Brown within one, 66-65.
Two empty possessions forced JBU to foul the Cavaliers, with the hosts converting three of four at the line. Now armed with a four-point lead, sophomore Courtney Fine pushed the ball down the court and found Schammel for a trey with 15 seconds remaining. Quickly upon the inbounds, JBU fouled Lundy, hoping the Cavalier leading scorer would miss at the stripe.
Lundy hit both, however, and with eight seconds left and without a timeout, the Golden Eagles inbounded the ball and pushed downcourt. Sophomore Kimmy Deines had an open look at the left elbow of the arc, but elected to push the pass further into the corner to the hot hand. With time expiring, Schammel hit a fadeaway from the deep corner, giving the Golden Eagles a chance to win in extra time.
After trading points to kick off overtime, John Brown took a 75-73 lead with senior Brooke Barkers jumper at the top of the key. SGU tied the game at 75 and then took advantage of three consecutive Golden Eagle turnovers to take an 80-75 lead. The visitors couldnt recover and only manage a pair of Fine free throw conversions over the final 2:47 of overtime.
“We didnt do a very good job defensively in the second half,†said head coach Jeff Soderquist. “But, the girls hung in there and never gave up.â€
In quite a disparity, the Cavaliers finished 20-of-22 from the line while the Golden Eagles attempted just 10, making seven of its attempts. JBU notched a 46.3 percent mark from the floor (31-f-67) and hit 8-of-21 from behind the arc. The hosts, meanwhile, hit 26-of-50 from the field (52 percent) and knocked down 9-of-26 chances from downtown.
Lundy led all scorers for St. Gregorys (9-17, 6-11 SAC) with 32 points and went 9-of-9 from the line. Four of the Cavs five starters hit double digits with Kylee Tatum posting 19 and Kelsie Howgard and Courtney Leach each adding 12.
Cameron set another personal best with 26 points on 12-of-20 shooting. Senior Sofia Mendoza came off the bench to contribute a 5-of-7 effort and 10 points. Barker added 16 while Deines tied a career-high six assists in the loss.
With the loss, JBU falls to 1-2 in overtime this season, and the Golden Eagles are eliminated from third-seed contention in the upcoming Sooner Athletic Conference tournament with one game remaining. JBU will close out the season on Saturday (Feb. 27) when it hosts Science & Arts (Okla.) at Bill George Arena at 3 p.m.
