Men’s and Women’s Basketball
Women Roll Past SGU in Home Finale

CHICKASHA – Helped by a season-high 12 3-pointers, the University of Science and Arts’ women dominated the action and cruised to a 77-57 win over St. Gregory’s in Thursday’s home finale. The Drovers improved to 16-9 overall and 12-6 in the league with road games remaining against No. 8 Oklahoma Baptist and No. 17 Lubbock Christian.

With senior guard Je’antel Haynes slowed by an injury, Kartesha Rambo, USAO’s only other senior, posted one of her best shooting performances. Down 14-13 with 11:36 left in the first half, she drained three 3-pointers to help the Drovers reclaim the lead with an 18-0 run.

Rambo hit four 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 20 points. Junior forward Yesi Castillo collected her 10th double-double of the season and fourth in a row as she scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Sophomore guard Tina Ellis had one of her best games, as did junior forward J’Nay Vann. Ellis scored 10 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists. Vann posted one of the best rebounding performances in USAO history.

Vann’s 16 rebounds would have tied for second place all-time before this season. Castillo and Charite Lewis had games of 18 and 17 rebounds, respectively, but Vann’ contributions over the past few games have helped USAO deal with injuries to Haynes and Sasha Ferguson.

Men’s Basketball
Defense Spurs Drover Win

CHICKASHA – In a game that was defined by defense, it was only right that the Drover defense was the difference in Thursday’s 53-46 win over St. Gregory’s.

Down 44-42 with 2:51 remaining and in the middle of a six-minute scoring draught, USAO’s chances for its second straight win looked to be slipping away. Spurred by the senior night crowd, the Drover defense forced three straight turnovers to take control of the game.

Coming out of a timeout, Dexter Williams collected his fourth steal of the night when he tipped the ball away from point guard Ryan Wilson. Williams found DeAngelo Alexander open under the basket for an easy layup to tie the game at 44-44. On the next possession, SGU’s Josh Coulter got caught in the air with no place to go. Tim Nelson stole his pass out of traffic and strolled down the go-ahead layup.

The following SGU possession, Alexander stole a pass from Wilson, scored on the layup and drew a foul. With the free throw, USAO completed a 7-0 run in just over one minute and held a controlling 49-44 lead. Thomas Woods and Nelson knocked down four straight free throws to seal the win.

Alexander and Woods, playing in their final home game, combined for 21 points and 15 rebounds, and Nelson posted a game-high 14 points despite struggling from the field. Williams was held scoreless, but after Thursday night the sophomore is only seven steals shy of the single-season record of 71 steals held by Theron Jackson.

The Drovers improved to 14-11 overall and 10-9 in the league. USAO is only one game out of a three-way tie for fourth place. Both teams are on the road Saturday night playing the No. 8 OBU Lady Bison and No. 25 Bison. The women’s game begins at 6 p.m. ###