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Posted by
Ray Fink
-
Thu, Mar 18, 2010
- [
Women's Basketball
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JACKSON, Tenn. - After getting an unsettling wake-up call, the Oklahoma
Baptist University Lady Bison responded with a strong second half to
claim a 64-57 win over William Jewell College in the first round of the
NAIA championship tournament Friday morning at Oman Arena.
Senior guard Taujhnae Travis tallied 16 points and long-range threat Val Siemens added 14 to lead an offensive attack which came in spurts. OBU shot 60 percent from the field in the second half, hitting 15 of 25 shots, overcoming a 29 percent shooting performance in the first half.
Trailing 50-48 with 6:03 left, the Lady Bison reeled off six points. Two baskets by senior guard Ashley Harrell sandwiching a bucket by senior guard Amy Pryor, gave OBU a 54-50 edge with 4:35 left. The Cardinals would get no closer down the stretch.
OBU improved to 31-3 on the year, while William Jewell concluded with a 26-8 record.
The 9 a.m. contest started well for OBU as Mattox hit a lay-up 15 seconds into the game. But with 12:32 left in the half, the fourth-ranked Lady Bison trailed the #25 Cardinals 18-2. William Jewell, which fell to OBU 71-42 in the season opener on Nov. 6, appeared to be willing to open and close the Lady Bison season.
Senior guard Hillary Adams led WJC's attack with 22 points. She hit two three-pointers in the early 18-0 run against a struggling OBU defense.
"Our defense was out-of-whack," OBU coach John McCullough said. "We had no continuity, but we re-grouped and fought."
The Lady Bison answered the Cardinals' run with a 14-0 burst capped by back-to-back treys by Siemens, closing the gap to 18-16 with 7:40 left in the half. But William Jewell owned a 29-21 lead at intermission.
Appearing in its second straight NAIA tournament, William Jewell was missing its leading rebounder, Brandie Roberts. The 6-1 post, who averaged 8.4 boards per game, was injured late in the regular season. Her replacement was sidelined during the conference tournament, giving several reserves extra playing time. Despite the personnel losses, William Jewell won the Heart of America Athletic Conference tournament and carried a 10-game winning streak into Friday's game.
"They played loose and they really exposed us in a lot of areas," McCullough said. "We are a better defensive team than we played today."
OBU gained its first lead of the second half on a basket by Mattox with 10:49 left to make it 43-41 in the midst of a 12-0 Lady Bison run. Two free throws by Travis gave OBU a 48-41 lead at the 9:00 mark, but the Cardinals responded with a 9-0 run, taking their final lead at 50-48 on a basket by Katie Bond.
Bond finished with a team-leading nine rebounds for William Jewell. Travis and junior forward Samantha Smith led OBU with six rebounds each.
In its 15th consecutive appearance at the national tournament, OBU's squad includes eight players who were on last year's team which reached the national semi-finals.
"In the tournament, you survive and move on," McCullough said. "That's exactly what we did."
OBU has played its final morning game of the year, as the Lady Bison will tip at 12:30 p.m. Friday in second round action against either Lee University or Langston University. Those two teams met later on Friday. OBU narrowly defeated Langston twice during the regular season, winning 63-61 in Shawnee Nov. 14 on a late shot by Travis, and prevailing 91-85 at Langston in double-overtime on Dec. 8. Siemens led OBU with 27 points in that win.
TOURNAMENT NOTES:
--In what may be a one-of-a-kind encounter, OBU was able to win a tourney game over a school where the president is a former coach for the OBU program. William Jewell's president, Dr. David Sallee, a 1973 OBU graduate, was Lady Bison coach in the early 1980s, claiming conference Coach of the Year honors in 1980, 1982 and 1983. He led OBU to back-to-back conference regular season titles in 1982 and 1983. That feat had not been matched until McCullough's squad earned its second straight Sooner Athletic Conference regular season championship this year.
--McCullough has taken the Lady Bison to 10 consecutive NAIA tournaments. He can even his career mark in Jackson with a win Friday. His teams are now 8-9 at the tourney, coming off last year's Fab Four appearance.
--Four SAC teams started in the tournament and three have advanced so far. Oklahoma City defeated Shorter Wednesday afternoon. Oklahoma Christian upset Point Loma Nazarene Wednesday night. Lubbock Christian was set to face Freed-Hardeman Thursday night in first-round action.
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Senior guard Taujhnae Travis tallied 16 points and long-range threat Val Siemens added 14 to lead an offensive attack which came in spurts. OBU shot 60 percent from the field in the second half, hitting 15 of 25 shots, overcoming a 29 percent shooting performance in the first half.
Trailing 50-48 with 6:03 left, the Lady Bison reeled off six points. Two baskets by senior guard Ashley Harrell sandwiching a bucket by senior guard Amy Pryor, gave OBU a 54-50 edge with 4:35 left. The Cardinals would get no closer down the stretch.
OBU improved to 31-3 on the year, while William Jewell concluded with a 26-8 record.
The 9 a.m. contest started well for OBU as Mattox hit a lay-up 15 seconds into the game. But with 12:32 left in the half, the fourth-ranked Lady Bison trailed the #25 Cardinals 18-2. William Jewell, which fell to OBU 71-42 in the season opener on Nov. 6, appeared to be willing to open and close the Lady Bison season.
Senior guard Hillary Adams led WJC's attack with 22 points. She hit two three-pointers in the early 18-0 run against a struggling OBU defense.
"Our defense was out-of-whack," OBU coach John McCullough said. "We had no continuity, but we re-grouped and fought."
The Lady Bison answered the Cardinals' run with a 14-0 burst capped by back-to-back treys by Siemens, closing the gap to 18-16 with 7:40 left in the half. But William Jewell owned a 29-21 lead at intermission.
Appearing in its second straight NAIA tournament, William Jewell was missing its leading rebounder, Brandie Roberts. The 6-1 post, who averaged 8.4 boards per game, was injured late in the regular season. Her replacement was sidelined during the conference tournament, giving several reserves extra playing time. Despite the personnel losses, William Jewell won the Heart of America Athletic Conference tournament and carried a 10-game winning streak into Friday's game.
"They played loose and they really exposed us in a lot of areas," McCullough said. "We are a better defensive team than we played today."
OBU gained its first lead of the second half on a basket by Mattox with 10:49 left to make it 43-41 in the midst of a 12-0 Lady Bison run. Two free throws by Travis gave OBU a 48-41 lead at the 9:00 mark, but the Cardinals responded with a 9-0 run, taking their final lead at 50-48 on a basket by Katie Bond.
Bond finished with a team-leading nine rebounds for William Jewell. Travis and junior forward Samantha Smith led OBU with six rebounds each.
In its 15th consecutive appearance at the national tournament, OBU's squad includes eight players who were on last year's team which reached the national semi-finals.
"In the tournament, you survive and move on," McCullough said. "That's exactly what we did."
OBU has played its final morning game of the year, as the Lady Bison will tip at 12:30 p.m. Friday in second round action against either Lee University or Langston University. Those two teams met later on Friday. OBU narrowly defeated Langston twice during the regular season, winning 63-61 in Shawnee Nov. 14 on a late shot by Travis, and prevailing 91-85 at Langston in double-overtime on Dec. 8. Siemens led OBU with 27 points in that win.
TOURNAMENT NOTES:
--In what may be a one-of-a-kind encounter, OBU was able to win a tourney game over a school where the president is a former coach for the OBU program. William Jewell's president, Dr. David Sallee, a 1973 OBU graduate, was Lady Bison coach in the early 1980s, claiming conference Coach of the Year honors in 1980, 1982 and 1983. He led OBU to back-to-back conference regular season titles in 1982 and 1983. That feat had not been matched until McCullough's squad earned its second straight Sooner Athletic Conference regular season championship this year.
--McCullough has taken the Lady Bison to 10 consecutive NAIA tournaments. He can even his career mark in Jackson with a win Friday. His teams are now 8-9 at the tourney, coming off last year's Fab Four appearance.
--Four SAC teams started in the tournament and three have advanced so far. Oklahoma City defeated Shorter Wednesday afternoon. Oklahoma Christian upset Point Loma Nazarene Wednesday night. Lubbock Christian was set to face Freed-Hardeman Thursday night in first-round action.
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