Basketball Teams Drop Twin Bill to SGU

A malfunctioning game block proved to be an unlucky omen Thursday night, as the USAO basketball teams suffered disappointing losses to St. Gregory’s. The Drover women lost 61-53 to the Lady Cavaliers, while the men dropped an 80-66 decision to the Cavaliers at USAO Fieldhouse.

With the eight-point loss, the USAO women fall to 6-12 overall and 1-8 in the Sooner Athletic Conference. The USAO men drop to 5-13 overall and 2-7 in the SAC. On Thursday, the Drovers travel to Oklahoma Christian for a 6 p.m. doubleheader. USAO returns home Saturday for a 6 p.m. twin bill against Oklahoma City.

In the women’s game, St. Gregory’s scored nine unanswered points in just under four minutes to take an early 20-5 lead. USAO responded with a 19-6 run over the final eight minutes of the first half to trail 26-24 at halftime.

USAO could only get as close as two points in the second half, and St. Gregory’s lead by as many as 11 points. The Drovers continued their struggles from 3-point range, hitting just 2-of-18 in the half. Meanwhile, the Lady Cavaliers kept the Drovers away by connecting on 17-of-20, or 85 percent, from the free throw line in the second stanza.

Two Drovers finished in double figures, led by junior Katie Sterling with 12 points and three rebounds. Junior Christina Brown added 11 points, five rebounds and two assists. Senior Karole Roberts, playing with a broken nose, scored nine points and three rebounds.

Senior Christal Merriweather finished with eight points, five rebounds and a team-high five assists. Others in the USAO scoring column included sophomore Kelli Keeble with five points, sophomore Nikki Yager with four, and junior Nicole Sherman and junior Kayla Lawrence each had two points.

For the game, USAO hit 31 percent (18-of-59) from the field, 18 percent (5-of-28) from 3-point range and 60 percent (12-of-20) from the free throw line. The Drovers collected 43 rebounds, 13 assists, seven steals, four blocks and committed 24 turnovers.

St. Gregory’s had three players in double figures, led by Ashley Holtzinger with 17 points. Danya Neugent finished with 15 points, five rebounds, along with a game-high six assists and four steals. Cassandra Reed added 12 points and six rebounds.

It was a tail of two halves for USAO as the Drovers’ shooting struggles continued in an 80-66 loss. USAO saw St. Gregory’s hit nearly 54 percent from the field in the opening half, but came back with some key 3-pointers to keep things close. The teams traded the lead five times and tied three, as the Drovers trailed 35-28 at halftime.

The second half was a different story for the Drovers as they shot less than 30 percent from the field and just 2-of-14 from 3-point range. They managed to stay close and forced the last tie of the game at 60-all with just over 7:00 left. St. Gregory’s outscored USAO 20-6 in that time span to force the final 14-point margin.

Battling foul trouble in the first half, senior Wayne Gibson scored 17 of his game-high 20 points in the second half and grabbed five rebounds. Sophomore Avery Stevenson was the other Drover in double figures with 18 points and a team-high six rebounds. Senior Keith Miller finished with a game-high six assists to go along with seven points.

Others in the USAO scoring column were junior Wayne Walls, junior Kawitton Benoit and freshman Kevin Thames with four points each, junior Romeil Perkins had three points, senior Tony Jimmerson, senior Martin Washington and junior Nate Foster with two points each.

For the game, USAO hit 34 percent (20-of-59) from the field, 26 percent (6-of-23) from 3-point range and 69 percent (20-of-29) from the free throw line. The Drovers collected 25 rebounds, 14 assists, 11 steals, two blocks and committed 10 turnovers.

St. Gregory’s had four players in double figures, led by Tillman Moses with 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Patrick Jones and Charles Traylor finished with 14 points each, and Tarin Baker added 13 points.