The John Brown University women's basketball team got off to another slow start in the first half Saturday against Southwestern Assemblies of God.
But just like it did on Thursday in its Sooner Athletic Conference opener against Wayland Baptist, the Golden Eagles turned on the jets in the second half.
WOMEN CONFERENCE OVERALL
W-L W-L
John Brown 2-0 7-3
Oklahoma City 1-0 4-3
Mid-America Christian 1-0 3-3
Bacone 1-1 4-3
St. Gregory’s 1-1 4-4
Wayland Baptist 1-1 3-3
Southwestern Christian 1-1 4-5
Texas Wesleyan 0-1 3-5
Science and Arts of Okla. 0-1 1-5
Southwestern AOG 0-2 4-5
Last week
Thursday’s results
John Brown 63, Wayland Baptist 58
Southwestern Christian 59, St. Gregory’s 44
Bacone 66, Southwestern Assemblies of God 59 (OT)
Saturday’s results
John Brown 71, Southwestern Assemblies of God 69
Wayland Baptist 67, Bacone 56
Oklahoma City 57, Southwestern Christian 42
Mid-America Christian 81, Texas Wesleyan 80
St. Gregory’s 78, Science and Arts of Oklahoma 69
This week
Monday’s result
Jarvis Christian at Southwestern Assemblies of God
Tuesday’s result
Texas Wesleyan at Oklahoma City (n)
Thursday’s games
Oklahoma City at Lubbock Christian (exhibition)
Crowley’s Ridge College at Bacone
College of the Ozarks at St. Gregory’s
Friday’s game
Ecclesia at John Brown
Saturday’s games
Crowley’s Ridge College at John Brown
Southeastern Oklahoma State at St. Gregory’s
Mid-America Christian at Lyon College
Haskell Indian Nations at Southwestern Christian
Wayland Baptist at Eastern New Mexico
JBU quickly rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit and outscored the Lions 45-32 in the second half for a 71-67 victory at Bill George Arena.
"I think we don't get up and as excited for games as other teams do," said senior forward Brooke Barker. "We're a bunch of nice, sweet, quiet girls. Once we get up and excited and play with that passion, we're ready to go. We really need to work on coming out strong."
Barker's basket inside with 1 minute, 26 seconds left in the fourth quarter gave the Golden Eagles (7-3, 2-0) a 67-65 lead they wouldn't relinquish.
JBU's defense forced a pair of turnovers on the Lions' next two possessions, and Kodee Powell and Jana Schammel each hit a pair of free throws to ice the victory.
The Golden Eagles won their second straight SAC game to start league play with a 2-0 record.
"It's so important," Barker said of the strong start to conference play. "You know we lost some early close games, and I think those were preparing us for these close games now. I'm glad to be winning conference games, but we want to keep pushing and win as many as possible."
Powell and freshman Baily Cameron of Siloam Springs each led JBU with 14 points, while Cameron had nine rebounds and Powell dished out five assists.
Barker scored 13 points and Schammel chipped in 11 for JBU.
The Golden Eagles trailed by as many as 14 points in the second quarter after SAGU pulled ahead 29-15 after a 3-pointer from Laken Ward.
"I thought our passes were lazy in the first half," said JBU head coach Jeff Soderquist. "We were throwing the feed into the post and we were just tossing soft passes in there."
JBU cut the deficit to 35-26 at halftime and then pounced on the Lions at the start of the third quarter.
After scoring 26 points combined in the first two quarters, the Golden Eagles scored 26 in the third quarter and took a 52-47 lead going into the fourth.
"Well I think (JBU's) defense probably had something to do with that," SAGU coach Tiffany Phillips said of the third quarter. "We kind of went away from what we did in the first half, and we weren't getting great shots. I think we got frustrated a little bit. That plays a lot into it, that frustration."
Barker scored seven of her points in the third, and Courtney Fine, Schammel and Mariah Knox each hit 3-pointers as the Golden Eagles took the lead.
SAGU didn't go away though. The Lions tied the game 65-65 in the fourth quarter after a 3-pointer from Taylor Hill with 1:51 left in the game before Barker gave JBU the lead for good.
"You've got to give them credit," Soderquist said of SAGU. "Tiffany's in her first year, she's trying to change the culture."
Hill finished with 19 points to lead the Lions (4-5, 0-2), while Charity Page scored 13 and Ward 11.
"John Brown's a great basketball team and I'm proud of the way our girls played," Phillips said, "I'm proud of their effort, but again we've just got to hit some shots and some free throws down the stretch."
The Lions hit 26 of 56 shots from the floor, while JBU only hit 19 of 50. Both teams converted 7 of 18 from behind the 3-point line.
JBU won the turnover battle 16-11.
"I thought we executed a lot better (in the second half)," Soderquist said. "We were going inside really well there in the third quarter and scoring well inside. We found a real weakness there."
The Golden Eagles return to action at 6 p.m. on Friday at home against Ecclesia. JBU already has one home victory against the Royals, a 95-56 rout on Nov. 17.
John Brown 71, SW Assemblies of God 67
SW Assemblies of God 19 16 12 20 -- 67
John Brown 13 13 26 19 -- 71
SW Assemblies of God (4-5, 0-2): Hill 19, Page 13, Ward 11, Krock 7, Enabulele 6, Colbert 5, Becker 3, Diggles 3.
John Brown (7-3, 2-0): Cameron 14, Powell 14, Barker 13, Schammel 11, Deines 5, Knox 5, Fine 4, Pelegreen 3, Pack 2.
Sports on 12/09/2015