JBU women end first half with win

Nicholas Robinson/JBU Sports Information John Brown University guard Eliana Fernandez dribbles between a pair of Oklahoma Wesleyan defenders during Saturday s game in Bartlesville, Okla. JBU won the game 85-61 and improved to 9-1 on the season.
Nicholas Robinson/JBU Sports Information John Brown University guard Eliana Fernandez dribbles between a pair of Oklahoma Wesleyan defenders during Saturday s game in Bartlesville, Okla. JBU won the game 85-61 and improved to 9-1 on the season.

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. -- The No. 17 John Brown women's basketball team scored an 85-61 victory over Oklahoma Wesleyan (5-6) Saturday afternoon at the Mueller Sports Center, but the Golden Eagles (9-1) also shattered a shooting record already set once earlier this season.

JBU set a new single-game 3-point record, recording 20 3-pointers in its win over OKWU. The previous program record (17) was set in a 74-38 win at Ecclesia (Ark.) on Nov. 5. Senior Sierra Shipley poured in a career-high seven treys to lead all scorers with 21 points.

Three other Golden Eagles figured in double-digits, paced by senior Kortni Barenberg's 15 points on a 6-of-11 shooting effort that featured a pair of treys. Sophomore Brooke Barker and juniors Eliana Fernandez and Lauren Rogers all finished with 13 points apiece as the trio dropped nine conversions beyond the arc, three by each player. Junior Morgan Ankrom and senior Kami Garrison also chipped in with a long-range shot, completing the record-breaking effort.

"I thought we've been playing very well offensively lately," said head coach Jeff Soderquist on the squad's offensive approach to the game. "Ironically, Oklahoma Wesleyan is an outstanding 3-point shooting team, but I thought we did an excellent job guarding them, limiting them to 1-of-9 in the first half. I was proud of how we guarded for most of the game."

The threes began even at the outset of the tilt as Garrison knocked down her lone bucket of the afternoon to open the scoring for JBU before Barenberg followed with another. Shipley's first trey of the game handed the Golden Eagles a 12-6 lead at the 16:38 mark until the hosts responded with a 6-0 run of its own over 2:10. Shipley's second triple broke the deadlock as the teams then played to the second tie of the first half at 16 apiece. Rogers nailed her first trey at the 10:05 mark and after an OKWU response, Fernandez converted one of her own for a seven-point lead, 27-20.

Whittling the John Brown lead back to two, 27-25, Shipley and Barker drained consecutive deep shots for a six-point advantage, 33-27. JBU turnovers continued to fuel the Eagle offensive, but again, the hot shooting overwhelmed the hosts when Rogers' three-pointer at the 1:08 mark set the stage for Shipley's fifth triple with 36 seconds left, handing the visitors a 41-32 halftime lead, silencing the fairly rowdy OKWU bench and supporters.

"We were able to get some penetration and kick the ball out and hit open shots," Soderquist said. "Really, Sierra sparked us tonight with five 3-pointers in the first half. I think we were fortunate because sometimes missing 3s can become contagious. Today, knocking them down was contagious."

After netting 11 three-pointers in the first half, the John Brown barrage continued and didn't relent in the second half, finishing with nine in the second stanza. The game was often in the low to mid-20's in favor of the Golden Eagles until Ankrom's bomb at the top of the arc at the 2:37 mark handed JBU its largest lead of the night, 28.

Kayla Morgan tallied a team-high 13 points for OKWU while Courtney Backward pulled down a team-best five caroms.

The Golden Eagles will return to conference action in the new year when it welcomes Science and Arts (Okla.) to Bill George Arena on Jan. 2 for a 6 p.m. tip-off.

Sports on 12/18/2013