POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. -- A five-point third quarter deteriorated an eight-point halftime lead, and the John Brown University women's basketball team suffered its second-consecutive loss to College of the Ozarks (Mo.), 55-49, on Saturday afternoon inside the Keeter Gymnasium.
The Golden Eagles (5-2) shot 2-of-13 in the third quarter, while the Bobcats (9-1) shot 49.2 percent in the third and fourth quarters, building a nine-point lead late in the contest. Six points from senior Kodee Powell and four apiece from freshman Jordan Martin and junior Kimmy Deines weren't enough to pull JBU close than five points in the fourth, 46-42.
Powell's first triple of the final period closed the gap to four, but College of the Ozarks' Cassidy Johnson returned the favor on the next trip down the court and the Bobcats hit all six free throw opportunities down the stretch to prevent a John Brown comeback attempt.
Sophomore Baily Cameron had a monster first half, pouring in 13 points and finished with a team-best 17 on 7-of-14 shooting while Powell netted six of her total 11 in the final stanza, hitting a trio of triples.
JBU was heavily out-rebounded, 44-26, and couldn't convert Ozarks' 17 turnovers into a more substantial consequence, just eight points.
A tightly-contest first quarter, led by John Brown 13-10, turned in favor of the visitors when Cameron hit a triple with 41 seconds left in the half and Martin added an old-fashioned three-point play with 15 ticks on the clock, which converted a narrow 20-18 lead into a 26-18 halftime cushion.
JBU finished the contest shooting just 33.9 percent (19-of-56) and just 26.3 percent (5-of-19) from behind the arc, a season low. The Bobcats responded with a 36.4 percent effort from the floor (20-of-55) but hit 10-of-14 from the charity stripe.
Lakin Simmerman scored a team-best 13 points for College of the Ozarks while Johnson added 10 points. Kelse Cleeton barely missed the double-double with nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Golden Eagle schedule doesn't get any easier as the team departs for Jackson, Tenn., to take on No. 4 Campbellsville (Ky.) on Friday and No. 23 Cumberland (Tenn.) on Saturday in the Rotary Classic Invitational held at Oman Arena. The back-to-back contests will conclude a five-game road swing for John Brown before it returns to Bill George Arena on Dec. 1 to open Sooner Athletic Conference play against No. 19 Oklahoma City.
Sports on 11/21/2016