Triples Spell Doom for USAO, Women's Basketball Clinches Fourth Seed
SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- The John Brown womens basketball team (17-13, 10-8 SAC) ended the regular season on a high note, draining 10 triples on 29 chances to exact revenge on Science & Arts (Okla.), 67-50, on Saturday (Feb. 27) afternoon inside Bill George Arena in its home finale.
The Golden Eagle defense kept the Drovers (5-18, 4-14 SAC) at bay for most of the afternoon, and held the visitors to a mere 24.6 percent effort from the floor (15-of-61), including forcing 17 turnovers and restraining USAO to a 5-of-28 mark (17.9 percent) from behind the arc.
JBU responded with 22 points from sophomore Jana Schammel, who led all scorers, as she added three rebounds and three steals. More importantly, Schammel anchored the three-point effort in which the hosts hit 10-of-29 from the arc (34.5 percent). Schammel finished 4-of-6 from deep, scoring 16 of her 22 in the second half, while freshman Baily Cameron and sophomore Mariah Knox each added a pair.
Senior Brooke Barker, in her last outing at Bill George Arena, contributed a timely 10 points and seven rebounds.
Dishing the ball with regularity, John Brown racked up 18 assists on 24 field goals, led by a career-high eight helpers from sophomore Kimmy Deines, and seven more from junior Kodee Powell, who entered the contest No. 15 in the nation in total assists (118).
Three Drovers finished in double figures with Ilze Teilane pouring in 14 points while Mahogany Nelms added 13. Jordan Williams captured a double-double with 10 points a game-best 12 rebounds.
Continuously nipping at John Browns heels, USAO stayed within 10, 52-42, with 6:53 remaining in the contest. Four minutes later, Schammel and Powell hit back-to-back triples to extend the lead quickly to 18, with Schammel hitting her final trey with 1:29, icing the game with a 25-8 run.
Hanging onto the 52-42 lead, the Golden Eagle defense forced an 0-of-8 stretch from the Drovers over a 5:12 span and widened its lead from 10 to 20, 62-42.
The lead changed just one time over the course of the game. Teilanes triple gave the visitors a quick 3-0 lead to kick off the game. The lead evaporated as quickly as it appeared for USAO, as John Brown quickly pieced together a 16-2 run, capped off by a Cameron triple, as the hosts out-scored the Drovers 19-11 in the first quarter.
With the victory, John Brown secures the No. 4 seed in next weeks Sooner Athletic Tournament. By virtue of sweeping Southwestern A.G. (Texas), JBU lands the tiebreaker with fifth-seeded SAGU, but will face the tournament hosts in quarterfinal action on Thursday (March 3). Times are still to be announced.
