John Brown's women's basketball team shot its way into history Saturday afternoon.
The No. 19 Golden Eagles set a school record with 21 3-pointers made in an 86-53 rout of Oklahoma Panhandle State in a Sooner Athletic Conference basketball game inside Bill George Arena.
Sooner Athletic Conference Basketball Standings
WOMEN^CONFERENCE^OVERALL
^W-L^W-L
Oklahoma City^6-0^12-2
Science and Arts^4-1^12-2
Wayland Baptist^4-1^10-2
John Brown^4-1^10-4
Mid-America Christian^3-2^9-4
SW Assemblies of God^3-3^6-6
Bacone^2-3^10-4
Southwestern Christian^2-4^5-6
Panhandle State^1-4^8-4
Texas Wesleyan^1-5^3-11
Central Christian^0-6^1-13
Last week’s games
January 4
John Brown 72, Wayland Baptist 64
Texas Wesleyan 71, Central Christian 59
Oklahoma City 91, SW Assemblies of God 49
Bacone 64, Panhandle State 57
Mid-America Christian 76, Southwestern Christian 46
January 6
John Brown 86, Panhandle State 53
Wayland Baptist 79, Bacone 59
Oklahoma City 82, Texas Wesleyan 62
Science and Arts 67, Southwestern Christian 43
SW Assemblies of God 83, Central Christian 44
This week’s games
Thursday’s games
John Brown at Texas Wesleyan
Bacone at SW Assemblies of God
Science and Arts at Wayland Baptist
Southwestern Christian at Central Christian
Mid-America Christian at Panhandle State
Saturday’s games
John Brown at SW Assemblies of God
Oklahoma City at Southwestern Christian
Science and Arts at Panhandle State
Mid-America Christian at Wayland Baptist
Bacone at Texas Wesleyan
"It's neat," said JBU head coach Jeff Soderquist. "It's something the girls can say that they did. It's something they can brag about someday."
The 21 treys break the previous record of 20 set on Dec. 14, 2013 in a win against Oklahoma Wesleyan by a Golden Eagles team that wound up advancing to the 2014 NAIA Final Four.
On Saturday against Panhandle State, the Golden Eagles spread out their made 3-pointers over the course of four quarters.
The Golden Eagles (10-4, 4-1) hit five in the first quarter and six more in the second for 11 in the first half and a 41-22 lead.
JBU canned seven more 3-pointers in the third quarter for a total of 18 going into the fourth.
A 3-pointer from guard Kimmy Deines in the corner gave JBU a 78-48 lead to tie the previous record.
Baily Cameron set the new mark with 3 minutes, 48 seconds left in the game to give the Golden Eagles an 81-48 lead.
"We were consistent in both halves with (the 3-pointers)," Soderquist said. "I think that's been a big difference with them when you set a school record."
Nine different players hit 3-point shots for John Brown and the team finished 21 of 40 from behind the 3-point line.
Luize Skrastina hit four 3-pointers while Cameron, Deines and Sara Williams each sank three treys each. Preslea Reece, Taylor Fergen and Karina Chandra each had two triples, and Jordan Martin and Jana Schammel each had one.
Williams, who has played strong at the point guard position the last two games, including a victory against No. 5 Wayland Baptist on Thursday, said the Golden Eagles have moved the ball well on offense to get good shots.
"As a team we go out there, and (Soderquist) says when the ball goes in and out is when we shoot our best," Williams said. "If you look at our stats, when the ball goes in and out that's when we really shoot well."
Cameron led the Golden Eagles with 18 points, while Skrastina and Chandra had 16 and 10 points off the bench, respectively. Williams finished with 11 points, while Fergen had eight off the bench as JBU got good production from both its point guards.
"Very solid for (Williams)," Soderquist said. "Four assists, one turnover -- she hit some shots. The other night against Wayland she stepped up and hit some key free throws for us. I think she's doing a good job.
"And it was good to see Taylor get some shots in tonight too. I think those two can solidify our point guard position. I think both of them are getting a lot better and doing well with that."
Deines had nine points and Reece also contributed eight points for the Golden Eagles.
"We're just taking every day, trying to get better," Williams said. "We know what our strengths are. We know what our weaknesses are. We're building off of our weaknesses and trying to make sure we get better every day, going hard in practices."
JBU actually shot better from outside the 3-point line than it did from inside, notching just 9 of 23 from 2-point range.
The Golden Eagles had 23 assists to 13 turnovers, while Panhandle State committed 21 turnovers and shot just 18 of 54 from the field and 7 of 22 from behind the 3-point line.
Addison Munsch led Panhandle State (8-4, 1-4) with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Madison Dearmin chipped in 17 points and seven rebounds. Despite the outcome, Soderquist had some anxiety with the Aggies coming into the game.
"I tell you I think (coach) Victor (Esparza) is doing a great job with his team," Soderquist said. "I think they're well coached and they really hustle. They had me concerned. They do a good job to help (on defense), and we were able to find our open shooters and hit them. Again with us when you have everybody that can shoot, it helps."
The Golden Eagles now embark for Texas this week where they'll play Texas Wesleyan on Thursday in Fort Worth before heading to Waxahachie to face Southwestern Assemblies of God on Saturday.
Soderquist was quick to point out the Golden Eagles lost at SAGU a year ago before getting on a roll and winning 14 of their next 15 games.
"They will both be tough places to play," Soderquist said. "But as I told our team, if we want to be an elite team, we've got to learn how to go on the road and beat the teams that we're supposed to beat."
John Brown 86, Panhandle State 53
Panhandle State^8^14^17^14^--^53
John Brown^19^22^27^18^--^86
Panhandle State (8-4, 1-4): Munsch 20, Dearmin 17, Regier 6, Faulks 4, Kelso 4, Roberson 2.
John Brown (10-4, 4-1): Cameron 18, Skrastina 16, Williams 11, Chandra 10, Deines 9, Reece 8, Fergen 8, Schammel 3, Martin 3.
Sports on 01/10/2018