Cameron’s Career High Helps Golden Eagles Finish Classic with Victory
SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. (November 21, 2015) -- Freshman Bailey Cameron dropped a career-high 19 points and for the first time this season, the John Brown women’s basketball team (4-2) won the battle of the boards and turnovers, leading to a 74-56 win over Philander Smith (Ark.) on Saturday (Nov. 21) afternoon at Bill George Arena in the final game of the annual JBU Classic.
The Golden Eagles forced Philander Smith (5-3) into 23 miscues and converted the errors into 27 points, led by sophomore Kimmy Deines four steals. JBU also won the battle of the boards, 47-38, including 17 offensive rebounds which were translated into 11 second-chance points. Senior Brooke Barker led the rebounding effort with seven offensive rebounds and 14 total caroms, marking a career-best effort.
Despite opening the contest with a 17-9 lead after the first quarter, the Golden Eagles suffered through its most inefficient effort from the floor of the season, hitting just 21-of-66 (31.8 percent) attempts. A stellar 24-of-32 (75 percent) clip from the line helped, while junior Kodee Powell and Deines each hit a pair of triples, sending John Brown to an 8-of-32 (25 percent) mark from behind the arc.
Hitting 6-of-11 from the field and 6-of-17 from the line, Cameron notched a career-best 19 points and grabbed five rebounds while Deines landed 5-of-8 from the floor to finish in double digits with 14 points. Off the bench, sophomore Mariah Knox easily had her best outing of the season, registering 11 points, earning eight from the stripe, and included a trio of rebounds and steals in the victory.
The Panthers posted a 37.1 percent clip from the field (23-of-62) but were kept in check with its miscues and rebounding deficiency. Taylen Jackson was the lone starter in double figures, contributing 11 points and seven rebounds. Tiffany Richardson added 12 off the bench, hitting 5-of-11 from the field, and grabbed six rebounds in the loss.
John Brown kept the Panthers’ top scoring duo in check for the entirety of the contest. Juquecia Chaney and Brittany Leonard, who entered the contest averaging 17.8 and 16.5 points per game, respectively, were limited to a combined eight points on 3-of-17 shooting from the field.
Cameron started the game off with a person seven-consecutive points as JBU built an early 7-2 lead at the 6:46 mark. She continued her output with another bucket down low with 1:46 on the clock to extend JBU’s lead to 10, 16-6.
Neither team scored through the first 2:45 of the second period as JBU continued to maintain a 18-11 lead. PSC pulled within five, 18-13, but a Barker jumper followed by Knox’s triple rebuilt a 10-point advantage. The Golden Eagles slipped into a bit of a drought, scoring just one field goal over the final 4:44 of the half, but Powell netted her first trey of the game with 20 second left to hand the hosts a narrow 30-25 lead. Chaney hit a bucket as time expired, creating just a three-point margin in favor of JBU at the half, 30-27.
The Panthers began the second half on a 9-2 run while JBU missed five-straight field goals. Finally, Powell hit her second triple of the afternoon to pull John Brown within one, 36-35. The John Brown deficit grew to six, 41-35, but over the final 5:48 of the third quarter, the Golden Eagles made its game-clinching run.
Deines hit a triple to kick-off a 22-6 run that featured and old-fashioned three-point play from Barker and five more points from Cameron. Sophomore Jana Schammel dropped her first points of the afternoon, a triple from the deep corner, with 13 seconds left to cap the run and rebuild a 10-point lead for the hosts, 57-47, entering the final quarter.
Cameron converted an and-one down low to jump-start the fourth period, allowing JBU to post a 17-9 fourth-quarter scoring advantage.
With the win, John Brown moves to 3-1 inside Bill George Arena and will return to action on Tuesday (Nov. 24) when it travels to Atchison, Kan., to face Benedictine (Kan.) at 5:30 p.m. The Golden Eagles will close non-conference play on Monday (Nov. 30) when it hosts Jarvis Christian (Texas) before starting conference play on Dec. 3.
