JBU women falter in double OT

The John Brown women's basketball team can point to a number of different areas statistically that would have been the difference between winning and losing Monday night against University of North Texas at Dallas.

One of the top free-throw and 3-point shooting teams in the nation going into the game, the Golden Eagles only hit 20 of 34 (58.8 percent) from the charity stripe and 6 of 24 (25 percent) from long range.

The Golden Eagles also had done a good job of limiting turnovers prior to Monday, and yet had 24 turnovers.

And then there's rebounding. The Golden Eagles outrebounded the Trailblazers 51-50 overall, but allowed UNT-Dallas to snare 22 offensive rebounds which led to 30 more field goal attempts (87-57) on the night.

A better performance in any of these categories might have led to a victory, but instead John Brown fell to UNT-Dallas 72-68 in double overtime at Bill George Arena.

"We could just pick apart the stat sheet," said JBU head coach Jeff Soderquist. "We should have had this one."

The loss snaps a two-game winning streak for JBU and sends the Golden Eagles into the semester break with an overall record of 9-4 and 3-4 mark in Sooner Athletic Conference play.

"We're now 1-3 at home (in conference play)," Soderquist said. "Now we've got to play Langston, UNT-Dallas and USAO (Science & Arts) at their place. We need to have at least two of these. We could have had all three of them. We just didn't."

John Brown had plenty of chances on Monday.

The game was tied at 10 after the first quarter and JBU pulled ahead 21-18 after a rough offensive first half for both teams.

The Trailblazers (7-2, 5-2) pulled ahead 37-34 going into the fourth quarter and led by seven heading down the stretch before JBU rallied to send the game into overtime.

Tarrah Stephens had a couple of late baskets and Maddie Altman had two free throws a basket as JBU tied the game at 53.

The Golden Eagles led 56-55 with 7.2 seconds left and Altman at the free-throw line, but Altman only hit one of two shots.

UNT-Dallas called a timeout and advanced the ball to halfcourt and Morgan Strawder scored a layup to tie the game with 2.7 left. JBU's final shot attempt in overtime was blocked.

UNT-Dallas gained the upper hand in the second overtime, thanks to five points from Kayla James. Her 3-pointer made it 68-62.

Altman hit a 3-pointer with 16.7 seconds left to cut it to 68-65. Mykayla Dumas hit two free throws to put the Trailblazers back up 70-65 and Natalie Smith hit a 3-pointer in the corner with 1.7 seconds left to make it 70-68.

JBU fouled James with 1.1 left, and she missed both free throws, but Delyssa Miller was there for a putback as time expired.

Zyunn Cormier led UNT-Dallas with 26 points, while Miller had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Strawder 11 points.

Stephens led JBU with 28 points and eight rebounds, while Altman had 18 and Lisa Vanoverberghe had 10 points and 14 rebounds.

JBU is now off until Jan. 5, 2023, when the Golden Eagles travel to Wayland Baptist.

The Golden Eagles will wrap up finals this week and return to campus just before the first of the year, Soderquist said.

"The biggest thing I told them in there after the game is you've got to stay in shape," he said. "You've got a long break."

John Brown 87

SW Assem. of God 39

Six players scored in double figures and the Golden Eagles shot a season-best 47 percent from behind the arc (15 of 32), powering the John Brown University women's basketball team to a runaway win over Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 10) inside Bill George Arena.

Senior Tarrah Stephens scored two early buckets and senior Lisa Vanoverberghe and sophomore Emily Sanders each knocked down a triple as the Golden Eagles connected on five of their first six from the floor to build a 12-0 lead and never looked back.

Sanders and graduate student Maddie Altman hit consecutive treys down the stretch, building a commanding 20-4 lead for the hosts after the first quarter.

Seven players scored in the second frame, powered by seven points from junior Natalie Smith, allowing John Brown to score 27 points in the period, ballooning the advantage to 29 by halftime.

The Golden Eagles poured in six triples in the third quarter, again notching a huge frame with 26 points. Shooting at a 53 percent (10-for-19) clip in the third, Altman led all players with eight points, while Smith and Harris each added five apiece.

A 9-2 JBU run to open the fourth built a game-high 52-point advantage, 82-30, before a small SAGU run closed the gap to a final 48-point margin.

Besides shooting a season-best from long range, the Golden Eagles hit a pair of offensive thresholds that bodes well in their favor. The Golden Eagles are 4-0 when scoring at least 80 points and improved to 6-1 when shooting better than 45 percent from the floor.

John Brown pulled down 18 offensive rebounds, leading to 18 second-chance points. The hosts also made the Lions (2-9, 1-5) pay for its 21 turnovers by converting the miscues into 28 points. The JBU bench also outscored SAGU's reserves by a 33-8 margin.

Harris led the Golden Eagles with 13 points while Smith contributed 12 points. Stephens chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds, as did Vanoverberghe. Sanders and Altman who also added 10 points apiece in John Brown's fifth win of the season by at least 40 points.

Although shooting just 29 percent from the floor (14 of 49) and 15 percent (4 of 26) from behind the arc, the Lions produced one scorer in double figures, Taylor Moravcik, who scored 11 and added six rebounds. The hosts outrebounded SAGU, 45-28.

John Brown 61, Oklahoma City 51

OKLAHOMA CITY -- For the first time in nearly 27 calendar years, the John Brown University women's basketball team captured a win inside Abe Lemons Arena versus the Stars as the Golden Eagles used 22 points from senior Tarrah Stephens to knock off Oklahoma City by a 66-51 final on Tuesday, Dec. 6.

The win for the Golden Eagles ended a 27-game skid inside Abe Lemons Arena that dated back to Feb. 15, 1996.

Over the final 7:05 of the second quarter, John Brown rode points from five different players to open up a previous 18-17 narrow lead into a seven-point advantage, 29-22, at the break. JBU, still holding onto a seven-point advantage late in the third, used a 13-3 rally over a 5:21 span to widen the gap to 17, 52-35.

The Stars (3-6, 1-4) made one last comeback bid, piecing together a 10-0 response run to get back to within seven, 52-45, but the visitors hit all six of its final field goals – including five layups – as senior Lisa Vanoverberghe's triple with 11 seconds left ending the night with a John Brown 14-6 run.

The Sooner Athletic's second-leading scorer, Stephens, posted her fourth 20-point effort on 10 of 19 shooting from the floor and completed her second consecutive double-double, pulling down 10 boards. Sophomore Emily Sanders notched her second-career double-double, contributing 13 points and a career-best 11 rebounds while graduate student Maddie Altman passed out five assists, scoring a season-best 12 points.

Shooting 67 percent from the field (8-of-12) in the fourth quarter, the Golden Eagles finished the evening at 45 percent overall (25-of-56) and connected on 8-of-21 (38 percent) from behind the arc.

The league's best defense held the Stars to 30 percent from the floor (20-of-67), the fourth time this season City has been held under 30 percent. The hosts connected on eight triples on 33 attempts (24 percent).

Annilia Dawn was the lone Star to score in double figures, tallying 18 points, largely on five triples, and Amaya Gordon pulled down 10 of City's 40 rebounds in OCU's second home loss this season.

-- John Brown Sports Information contributed to this report.