Drovers Sweep St. Gregory’s

CHICKASHA – With strong second-half performances, the University of Science and Arts basketball teams easily handled St. Gregory’s in a Saturday night doubleheader inside the USAO Fieldhouse.

The women started off the night with a 66-37 win, and the men collected their second win of the year 77-58. Both teams improved to 2-1 in Sooner Athletic Conference play after falling to Oklahoma Baptist Thursday night at home. The USAO women are 9-4 overall while the men are 2-8 with both wins coming in the most difficult conference in America.

A 9-for-36 first-half shooting performance from the Drover women had the visitors thinking upset. USAO only led the 2-11 Lady Cavs 28-23 at halftime. SGU was only down 10 points midway through the second half when the Drovers caught fire.

With scoring coming from almost everyone on the roster, the Drovers started a 13-0 at the 10:15 mark of the second half to break the game wide open. SGU only managed to score six points the rest of the game.

Kartesha Rambo led all scorers with 16 points while seniors Lindsey Monroe and Nikki Yager each scored 12 points and added seven rebounds. Yager did nothing but improve her .697 shooting percentage which ranks No. 1 in the country. She finished hitting 5-of-6 from the floor.

The men’s game followed a similar script. Both teams connected on 13-of-30 from the floor in the first half, but USAO held a 38-30 halftime lead thanks to some timely 3-point shooting. Leading the way was Rafeyon Calhoun in his first career start. He finished hitting 4-of-6 from behind the arc for 12 points.

An 8-0 run through the first five minutes of the second half helped USAO build a lead they would not lose. SGU got within 14 points with 7:45 left, but an Avery Stevenson 3-pointer and a steal and dunk by Thomas Woods pushed the lead back to a comfortable size.

Stevenson led all scorers with a season-high 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting. The senior added seven rebounds and went 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Dalane Finley had a great night as well with 15 points, 13 rebounds, four steals and one blocked shot. Calhoun’s dozen and 11 points from DeAngelo Alexander rounded out most of USAO’s scoring.

Thomas Woods, the Drovers’ leading scorer, finished with six points. Verrick Gray and Stan Bolden came off the bench to post seven and two points, respectively.

The teams travel to Southern Nazarene for a 6 and 8 p.m. series on Thursday. Saturday night USAO will host John Brown beginning at 6 p.m. and will feature the school’s first “Whiteout” promotion. The teams ask fans to wear white shirts to show support.

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