Waxahachie, Texas- February 13, 2016- The Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) women’s basketball team (15-10 overall, 8-6 SAC) was looking to payback John Brown University (15-11 overall, 8-6 SAC) from a loss over two months earlier. In the end the game was forced into overtime, but the Lady Lions lost to JBU, 62-59.
“We had lots of good looks that just weren’t falling and when shots aren’t falling, we have to gets stops on defense,” explains SAGU head coach Tiffany Phillips, “JBU is a great team and to win against great teams you can’t have the mental breakdowns we had today.”
The first half of play was incredibly close for both teams. With 2:46 left in the half, SAGU’s Bethany Krock hit a three pointer to put the Lady Lions ahead by three. One minute later, Krock hit another shot beyond the arc and SAGU took the biggest lead of the half when they went up by six, 34-28.
JBU’s Bailey Cameron made a basket on their next trip down the floor, making the halftime score 34-30.
The second half went much like the first. At the end of the third quarter, SAGU’s Taylor Hill made a shot to put SAGU up, 46-44. Not to be outdone, JBU’s Mariah Knox hit a three to give the Lady Eagles the edge, 47-46.
In the fourth quarter, JBU’s Kodee Powell made five points in a row to go up 55-49 with 3:34 left in regulation.
SAGU’s Bethany Krock was on fire from behind the three point line. She came up huge with back-to-back three pointers to tie the game at 55-all with nine seconds left to play.
With only seconds left on the clock, JBU had one chance to pull ahead. JBU’s Baily Cameron missed a jump shot and JBU got the offensive rebound but there wasn’t time left on the clock. The game went into overtime.
In overtime, JBU went up by four right off the bat. With 2:46 left in overtime, SAGU’s Laken Ward got on offensive rebound and had a put back to bring the game within two. Next, Charity Page hit one free throw to make the score 59-58. With 1:17 left in the game, Page was able to tie the score at 59-all with one made free throw.
Unfortunately for the Lady Lions, JBU went three for four in the final minute on free throws. The Lady Eagles topped SAGU, 62-59.
Krock was five-of-nine for three pointers and tied a personal best of 17 points. She also had nine rebounds and two steals. Charity Page and Dy’Teesha Diggles each added 10 points. Page had 12 rebounds and Diggles added 11. SAGU out rebounded JBU, 52 to 36.
For JBU , Jana Schammel and Baily Cameron each scored 14 points.
Coach Phillips is anticipating a big finish to their season, “We have four tough games left and for us the time is now. We are still in good position in conference but we have to finish strong and battle to the end. I know this team will. I know they want to make a name for themselves. It should be a fun couple of weeks.”
On Thursday, February 18, 2016, SAGU will host Southwestern Christian . Game time is at 6pm. Earlier in the season SAGU beat Southwestern Christian 54-53. SCU is currently 11-12 overall and 8-5 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
Southwestern Assemblies of God University is a private, Christian university located 30 minutes south of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Waxahachie, Texas. The university was established in 1927, and now offers more than 70 associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees on campus or online. More information is available at www.sagu.edu or by calling 1-888-YES-SAGU.
Contact: Natalie Tristan, Sports Information, [email protected]
