SILOAM SPRINGS -- Senior Natalie Smith drained eight three pointers en route to a career-high 35 points, and the No. 13 John Brown University women's basketball team completed a perfect sweep through the Sooner Athletic regular season after taking down Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 77-70 on Feb. 24.
In the win, the Golden Eagles (25-3, 22-0 Sooner Athletic) finished off its third come-from-behind victory of the season in which JBU was facing a double-digit deficit in the second half, using staunch defense to hold the Evangels to just 37% shooting (10 of 27) in the second half, ending the visitors' 11-game win streak in the process.
"Our bread and butter all season has been defense," Coach Jeff Soderquist said. "We came out much better in the second half and returned to what makes this team special."
Not only did the defensive presence return in the second half, the JBU shooting from behind the arc provided a pair of runs that decimated the Evangels' lead. Powered by Smith's five of six shooting from long range in the second half alone, JBU poured in eight of 14 (57%) from behind the arc in the final 20 minutes of action, and finished 14 of 31 (48%) from distance.
Six lead changes in the first quarter finished with MACU netting the final basket of the first quarter and, from there, the visitors would build and hold a lead that lasted into the early goings of the fourth quarter, outscoring the Golden Eagles 22-16 in the second period.
A pair of late three pointers from freshman Briley Burns kept John Brown within striking distance at the intermission.
Down 13 in the third, a quick 4:33 span produced a 12-0 John Brown, bookended by three pointers from Smith and freshman Abbey Sanders. Smith added a pair of mid-range jumpers in between and quickly JBU was within one.
The visitors would recover, however, riding some free throws and a Alexis Borgstadt three pointer to keep a narrow two-possession advantage entering the final 10 minutes of action. Then, Smith took over again.
On the opening possession, Smith knocked down a three pointer and the foul shot, and JBU hit yet another three pointer from junior Graci Harris to complete a personal 10-0 run that began with the final shot in the third, returning the lead back to John Brown, 60-54, for the first time since the end of the first.
MACU would crawl back to within three, but the Golden Eagles closed the door with a 12-6 run over the middle five minutes of the fourth quarter, highlighted by defense that held the Evangels to 2 of 6 shooting in the most pivotal moments, and senior Tarrah Stephens went to work down in the post, netting seven points during the rally alone.
With just 73 ticks left, Smith hit one more three pointer to complete the 23-point swing and balloon the John Brown lead to 10, 75-65.
During her 13 of 18 shooting performance and career-high 35 points, Smith became the program's all-time three-point shooting leader, surpassing the 275 triple record last set by Leslie Fanning. Including the eight three pointers versus MACU, Smith now stands at 281 conversions behind the arc for her career.
Stephens turned in a complete performance as JBU's other double-digit scorer, contributing 17 points on 6 of 12 shooting, and adding nine rebounds and three blocks. Sanders and Burns each posted a pair of three pointers off the bench to provide John Brown with six points apiece in the team's second win of the season when allowing the opponent to shoot over 40%.
Senior Emily Sanders tied a career high with seven assists, while Harris dished out a career-best eight assists as the Golden Eagles worked to a 82% assist rate on field goals made.
With the top seed locked up for the first time in program history, the Golden Eagles will return to action Thursday night when the squad will welcome Texas Wesleyan to Bill George Arena for the second time in 12 days for the quarterfinal round. JBU swept the season series with the Rams and will have to win to advance to the league's final four teams set to face off in Fort Worth from March 4-5 at the Sid Richardson Center. Thursday's game will air live on the SAC Sports Network.