Men’s and Women’s Basketball
Women Roll over Mid-America
CHICKASHA – It was a night for superlatives as the University of Science and Arts’ women overcame a sluggish start to power past Mid-America Christian 73-64 Thursday night at the USAO Fieldhouse.
Junior forward Yesi Castillo set a career-high with 17 rebounds to go with her 12 points. Senior guard Kartesha Rambo scored 22 points on 5-of-10 from the 3-point line. Rambo finished one 3-pointer shy of her career-high and three 3-pointers shy of Janice Corkery’s school record. Castillo’s 17 rebounds ranks second all-time at USAO and only four short of the school record set by Donita Burkhead in 1996.
Senior guard Je’antel Haynes finished with 17 points, which was one point short of her previous career-high, and sophomore Charite Lewis finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.
After trailing by as much as 12 points late in the first half, the Drovers finished the first half on a 9-0 run and began the second half on a 12-2 run. MACU retook the lead briefly with 12:05 remaining 48-47, but eight straight points from Rambo helped the Drovers take control.
USAO improved to 13-8 overall and 9-5 in the league as a Saturday showdown at No. 7 and league-leading Oklahoma City is next on the schedule. Tip time is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Men’s Basketball
Men Win Fourth in a Row
Tim Nelson provided the highlights with 23 points on five 3-pointers, but it was a team effort as nine Drovers got into the scoring column as the USAO men ripped off their fourth straight win 76-59 over Mid-America Christian Thursday night inside the USAO Fieldhouse.
Holding its fifth opponent in seven games to under 60 points, the Drover defense put the clamps on the pesky MACU crew that picked up its first Sooner Athletic Conference win against USAO earlier this season. In the earlier matchup in Moore, MACU hit eight 3-pointers and converted 20-of-26 free throws.
Thursday the USAO defense forced 15 turnovers, which turned into a 20-2 advantage in fastbreak points, and held the visitors to only five free throw attempts.
Nelson posted his sixth 20-point night of the season, and DeAngelo Alexander, the reigning SAC Player of the Week, scored 11 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Junior center Eli Flores got the crowd and the defense into the game early with four first-half blocks. Flores has posted 15 blocked shots in the past three games and has 46 blocks this season.
Sophomore point guard Dexter Williams finished with eight points, four rebounds, six assists and five steals to go along with zero turnovers. Junior center Jorge Parra finished with nine points and seven rebounds.
USAO improved to 11-9 overall and 7-7 in the league with a road game at No. 7 and league-leading Oklahoma City slated Saturday. Tip time is scheduled for 8 p.m.
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