John Brown women clip Bacone at home

n The Golden Eagles were defeated at Science and Arts on Thursday.

Photo courtesy of JBU Sports Information John Brown University senior Jana Schammel dribbles the ball as Bacone's Juanita Dodson defends on the play in JBU's 84-80 victory on Tuesday at Bill George Arena.
Photo courtesy of JBU Sports Information John Brown University senior Jana Schammel dribbles the ball as Bacone's Juanita Dodson defends on the play in JBU's 84-80 victory on Tuesday at Bill George Arena.

In a back-and-forth battle that saw 11 lead changes, the John Brown University women's basketball team finally built a 12-point lead late in the fourth quarter and hung on to an 84-80 win over Bacone (Okla.) inside Bill George Arena on Tuesday night.

Attempting 19 more shots from the field than the Golden Eagles (74-55), the Warriors (11-6, 3-5 Sooner Athletic) stayed in the contest using 18 offensive rebounds while enjoying a 31-point performance from Samantha Jackson, a season-high. But 14 John Brown 3-pointers and back-to-back buckets in the post from junior Baily Cameron iced the game in the final 65 seconds as the Golden Eagles (12-5, 6-2) won their fifth game in their last six chances.

"Bacone leads the nation in offensive rebounds, they're number two in steals and they average 18 offensive rebounds a game," head coach Jeff Soderquist said. "They're much improved over last year; they have some returning players this year and they've gotten better. I thought we did pretty well except for giving up 18 offensive rebounds, which was disappointing. Give them credit, they hit shots. We need to learn how to handle that a little better and finish stronger."

Although Jackson led all players with 31 points and 12 rebounds, her sixth double-double of the year, JBU countered with the one-two punch of Cameron and senior Kimmy Deines. Cameron posted 26 points and seven rebounds on an efficient 8-of-10 shooting from the floor, including converting 7-of-10 from the charity stripe. Deines, meanwhile, tied a career-high with 9 assists, and scored 15 points to land in double figures in her second-straight game.

"Kimmy is playing like a senior, like a player who's been in the program for four years," Soderquist said. "I'm awful proud of her. She's by far our best defender, and night in and night out, she's guarding the other team's best player."

Bacone made its last rally count, posting a 15-4 run to close a 75-63 deficit to a manageable 79-78 score, but Cameron's splitting of the defense and hitting a second-straight shot in the post with just 29 seconds left cemented the victory as the Warriors missed their last three field goal attempts.

Cameron scored 12 of her team-best 26 in the fourth quarter alone.

Science and Arts 57, JBU 48

CHICKASHA, Okla. -- For the third time in four games the John Brown University women's basketball team shot below 40 percent and, despite holding host Science and Arts (Okla.) to a season-low point total, the Drovers escaped with a 57-48 victory on Thursday night inside Drover Fieldhouse.

A Baily Cameron 3-pointer handed the Golden Eagles (12-6, 6-3 Sooner Athletic) an early 8-5 lead, but USAO responded on a 12-4 run that spanned into the second quarter to build a 20-12 lead, an advantage it wouldn't relinquish for the rest of the contest.

"We played very poorly on offense," head coach Jeff Soderquist said, alluding to the Golden Eagles' 31.6 percent shooting effort and 21 turnovers. "I thought, for the most part, we played pretty good defense. However, we allowed (Vivian) Holcomb to get nine offensive rebounds, which really hurt us."

In a matchup of the SAC's top two defenses, USAO's Vivian Holcomb scored 12 points and pulled down 15 rebounds, notching her third double-double of the season. Rebecca Worthy added 13 points in the win, although the hosts shot just marginally better than JBU, hitting 38.6 percent of its shots from the field.

Cameron scored a game-best 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting, and also secured seven rebounds. Senior Jana Schammel finished in double figures with 11, hitting a pair of triples, while sophomore Sara Williams and senior Rosa Orpo each added six points in the setback.

JBU finished the contest 5-of-14 from behind the arc (20.8 percent) and have lost four of five when netting less than double-digit treys.

Up next

John Brown returned to action Saturday at home against Mid-America Christian. Results were not available at presstime. The Golden Eagles are back in action Thursday at home against Central Christian (Kan.).

Sports on 01/21/2018