JBU's strong start disappears

n The women came up short again against Oklahoma City.

Photo courtesy of JBU Sports Information John Brown freshman Ally Teague looks for her shot as Oklahoma City’s Janae Haag defends in the Stars’ 75-62 win over the Golden Eagles on Thursday at Bill George Arena.
Photo courtesy of JBU Sports Information John Brown freshman Ally Teague looks for her shot as Oklahoma City’s Janae Haag defends in the Stars’ 75-62 win over the Golden Eagles on Thursday at Bill George Arena.

The John Brown University women's basketball team got off to a strong start against No. 19 Oklahoma City on Thursday, but the success didn't last for the Golden Eagles.

Oklahoma City recovered from an early 18-8 deficit and took the lead for good in the second quarter and rolled past JBU 75-62 in the opening game of Sooner Athletic Conference play for both teams at Bill George Arena.

Oklahoma City (7-1, 1-0) won its seventh straight against JBU and improved to 46-5 all time against the Golden Eagles (6-4, 0-1).

JBU certainly started well, taking an 18-8 lead midway through the first quarter after Preslea Reece, Kimmy Deines, Kodee Powell and Luize Skrastina each hit 3-pointers, but Oklahoma City went on a 28-10 run to close the half and opened the second half on a 23-10 surge.

"We just had to get in a rhythm guarding (JBU)," said Oklahoma City coach Bo Overton, "because they've got so many 3-point shooters and they're really good at it. Once we took that first wave, I thought we really settled down and played pretty good."

Oklahoma City closed the first quarter on a 8-1 run to pull within 19-16 after Allison Frey hit a trey at the buzzer. The Stars then pulled ahead in the second quarter, taking a 24-23 lead with 6:21 left on a basket inside by Brooke Irwin. Daniela Wallen followed with a jumper and Irwin scored inside again to make it 28-23. After a fourth straight empty possession for JBU, Wallen drove and scored for a 30-23 Stars lead.

Skrastina stopped the bleeding momentarily for JBU to pull within 30-26, but Oklahoma City closed the half on a 6-2 run to take a 36-28 halftime lead.

The Stars blitzed JBU to start the third quarter and pulled ahead by double digits. The Stars' lead ballooned to as high as 23 points in the second half.

Wallen (5-foot-11), the reigning Sooner Athletic Conference Player of the Year, finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds to lead Oklahoma City.

"She was the player of the year last year and she's still the best player in the league," said JBU coach Jeff Soderquist. "We wanted to limit her transition points and easy putbacks. She'll miss some shots, but she'll get the rebounds and stick them back in."

Daniela Galindo added 14 points for the Stars, while Mariana Duran had 12 and Janae Haag had 10. Oklahoma City hit 33 of 63 shots from the field and outrebounded JBU 47-23.

Powell led JBU with 20 points, while Reece had 10. The Golden Eagles only hit 23 of 62 from the field, 13 of 36 from behind the 3-point line.

"Give (Oklahoma City) credit," Soderquist said. "They made shots, and besides Kodee (Powell), we really didn't hit when we had opportunities."

The Golden Eagles returned to action on Saturday at St. Gregory's. Results were not available at presstime.

JBU returns to action at 7 p.m. on Monday with a nonconference game against Crowley's Ridge College at Bill George Arena. The Golden Eagles will then play their final game of the fall semester at 6 p.m. on Thursday against Ecclesia, a team they've already defeated 110-37 earlier in the season.

Oklahoma City 75, John Brown 62

Oklahoma City^16^20^27^12^--^75

John Brown^19^9^15^19^--^62

Oklahoma City (7-1, 1-0): Wallen 24, Galindo 14, Duran 12, Haag 10, Irwin 8, Hill 4, Frey 3.

John Brown (6-4, 0-1): Powell 20, Reece 10, Cameron 9, Deines 7, Skrastina 6, Williams 3, Roh 3, Martin 3, Orpo 1.

Sports on 12/03/2016