Basketball Women Beat Texas College

OKLAHOMA CITY – In the opening minutes of the game, the USAO women’s basketball team opened a 20-5 lead and cruised to an easy victory Friday night against Texas College.

The Drovers posted a 76-53 win over the Lady Steers in a neutral site game at Oklahoma City University’s Abe Lemons Arena. With the 23-point win, USAO improves to 4-0 overall for the for the first time since the 2001-02 season.

This weekend, the Drovers face their toughest tests of the season in the Jackson, Tenn., and Rotary Classic tournament. On Thursday, USAO is scheduled to face No. 4-ranked Union, Tenn., at 4 p.m., followed by Ambush, Tenn., at 5 p.m. Friday, and No. 6 Freed-Hardeman, Tenn., at 5 p.m. Saturday.

On Friday, USAO scored 12 of the first 15 points in the opening eight minutes and coasted to a comfortable 35-21 lead at halftime. The Drover defense held Texas College to 31 percent from the field, 21 percent from 3-point range, and didn’t allow the Lady Steers a free throw attempt.

USAO opened the second half by outscoring Texas College 21-7 and widened the lead to 27 points at 55-28. From there, the Drovers never allowed the Lady Steers back into the game eventually won by 23 points.

Four of the five USAO starters scored in double figures, led by junior Stephanie Russell with 16 points. Russell also finished with five rebounds, five assists and a team-high four steals. Junior Katie Sterling was just behind with 14 points, three rebounds and five assists.

The other Drovers in double figures were seniors Christal Merriweather and Karole Roberts with 12 points each. Merriweather added four rebounds and a team-high seven assists, while Roberts grabbed three rebounds. Sophomore Nikki Yager came off the bench for eight points on 4-of-4 shooting and a team-high eight rebounds.