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Drovers Suffer
Heartbreakers CHICKASHA – Saturday night’s senior night didn’t quite go as scripted as the University of Science and Arts dropped a pair of games in overtime to Oklahoma Christian inside the USAO Fieldhouse. Both teams held leads late, but the women fell 77-71 while the men lost 81-77. The story of the women’s game, other than Katie Sterling fouling out with 10 minutes remaining, was a late foul that put OC’s Carlissa Plowden on free-throw line with 2.2 seconds remaining. The foul was called following a layup by Lindsey Monroe, which gave USAO a 63-62 lead with 5.6 seconds remaining. OC’s Lauren Decker took the inbound pass and found light pressure in the backcourt from USAO’s Elaine Contreras. Decker got a screen from Plowden, and Contreras was whistled for running into Plowden almost 60 feet from the basket with only 2.2 remaining. Plowden only made 1-of-2 free throws forcing overtime, where OC outscored the Drovers 14-8 to collect the Eagles’ 21st win of the season. The way in which USAO lost overshadowed the team’s fine performance outscoring the Sooner Athletic Conference’s second-place team 19-16 over the final 10 minutes without the Drovers’ leading scorer. Four Drovers finished in double figures led by Monroe’s 16 points. Senior Stephanie Russell was 7-of-10 from the free-throw line finishing with 15 points, and Sterling posted 14 points, four rebounds and two steals in only 20 minutes of action during her final home game. Nikki Yager also helped pick up the slack with 13 points and nine rebounds. The junior scored seven of USAO’s final nine points of regulation including an offensive rebound on putback that gave the Drovers a 61-60 lead with 42 seconds remaining. Christina Brown and Contreras scored seven and six points, respectively. Contreras dished out seven assists and had one steal to go along with six rebounds. In the men’s game, Stanley Bolden’s three-pointer with 36 seconds remaining tied the game at 73-73 and forced overtime. But late in the extra period, USAO failed to convert despite two chances on the final possession. OC’s Keith Harris scored the final bucket of the game on a run-out dunk as time expired to give the visitors the four-point win. Five players scored in double figures for each team as the game saw 24 lead changes and 14 ties. OC’s largest lead of seven points came just four minutes into the game. The Drovers’ largest lead was four points, and the team held that lead for the final time with 3:57 left in the game. Seniors Marcus Hines and Jose Nava led USAO in scoring with 16 and 15 points. Nava grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds, had two assists, two blocks and two steals in 35 minutes of action. Avery Stevenson finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists and four steals. Bolden and J.J. Walsh each scored 11 points. The losses dropped the USAO women to 14-11 overall and 7-9 in the league and the men to 11-15 and 7-9. The two teams will play its two remaining regular season games at Lubbock Christian on Thursday night and at Wayland Baptist on Saturday afternoon. ### |