FORT WORTH, Texas -- The No. 19 John Brown University women's basketball team faced a quick 8-0 deficit that ballooned quickly as the Golden Eagles fell 69-49 at Texas Wesleyan in a lopsided affair on Thursday night inside the Sid Richardson Center.
In a night that little went well for the visitors, the lone bright spot was junior Baily Cameron's 21-point effort on a 9 of 18 evening from the floor, along with nine rebounds. Senior Kimmy Deines reached double-figure scoring for the first time in nine games with 11 points and six boards.
Marred by five turnovers and a 2 of 8 start from the field, the Golden Eagles (10-5, 4-2 Sooner Athletic Conference) had their hands full as Nicole Gleason started out the contest with four triples, building an early 19-5 lead for the Rams (4-11, 2-5), which has won just twice in its last 10 contests.
A pair of Deines triples helped stem the tide, but John Brown's 11-point hole at the end of the first, 21-10, jumped back up to 15 early in the second after consecutive Ram triples.
Cameron's old-fashioned three-point play and a Deines layup brought the distance to eight, 32-24, but triples from Tomi Sanchez and Falesha Fuller re-established a 17-point TWU lead at the intermission.
The Rams finished the contest 10 of 16 from behind the arc in the first half, making 10 buckets behind the arc, compared to just six inside.
The remainder of the contest stayed within a double-digit cushion for the Rams, which broke JBU's three-game winning streak, until Gleason's sixth triple fell to cement the 20-point margin of defeat for the Golden Eagles.
John Brown, the nation's leading three-point shooting team, managed a sub-par conversion rate for the contest, hitting just 5-of-27 attempts from long range (18.5 percent). Wesleyan entered the contest hitting just a third of its triples this season, finished 12-of-26 (46.2 percent).
Gleason led all scorers with 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including six triples, and dished out five assists and recorded four steals. Evie Whorley added 13 points and eight boards while Tomi Sanchez came off the bench to add 11 points in the win.
JBU will finish the two-game stint in Texas on Saturday at Southwestern Assemblies of God.
Sports on 01/14/2018