Third Quarter Rally Erased By Fourth Period Letdown
SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Armed with a 15-point lead after a 25-9 outburst in the third quarter, the John Brown womens basketball team (15-12, 8-7 SAC) had its two-game win streak snapped when Mid-America Christian (Okla.) broke open the fourth quarter to the tune of 27-9 to capture a 68-65 victory on Thursday (Feb. 18) night inside Bill George Arena.
The setback was JBUs third loss at home all season.
In a third quarter that saw seven different players score, the Golden Eagles held the visiting Evangels to a 3-of-13 mark from the floor and turned around a 32-31 deficit at the half to take a commanding 56-41 lead into the final frame. However, in a mirror-image response, MACU hit big shot after big shot down the stretch.
The final 10 minutes featured a trio of triples from MACUs Kelli Tolar and a pair from Sarai Rodriguez as JBU shot just 3-of-19. Without a point for the first 4:18 of the fourth, sophomore Kimmy Deines drove the lane for a contested layup and junior Kodee Powell knocked down a triple from the right arc, breaking a 58-all tie.
Tolar sunk her third triple of the contest after a pair of Brooke Barker free throws and the Evangels finished off the game on a 10-2 run to capture the stunning victory.
Tolar led all players with a game-high 23 points on 6-of-14 shooting behind the arc while Rodriguez added 22 on 9-of-14 shooting from the field. Entering the game leading the Sooner Athletic in triples made per game (8.95), MACU finished with 11 on 28 attempts (39.3 percent) and shot 41.7 percent from the floor overall.
Senior Brooke Barker returned to form by scoring a team-best 18 points and dished out five assists. Sophomore Jana Schammel and Powell each stroked four triples to finish with 12 points apiece while freshman Baily Cameron added four points and eight boards in the loss.
MACU (10-13, 7-8 SAC) out-rebounded John Brown by a 38-35 count, but the Golden Eagles held advantages in points in the paint (34-28), points off turnovers (17-10) and points off the bench (13-4).
Coupled with the loss and Southwestern Christian (Okla.) grabbing a 68-50 win at Southwestern A.G. (Texas), JBU remains tied for fourth with SAGU while Southwestern Christian moves one game ahead for the third overall seed in the upcoming Sooner Athletic tournament.
John Brown returns to action on Saturday (Feb. 20) when it welcomes Bacone (Okla.) to Bill George Arena in the Warriors first action in Siloam Springs as a member of the SAC. Tip is slated for 1 p.m.
