JACKSON, Tenn. — Despite a stifling defensive effort, Oklahoma Baptist University could not muster enough offense to advance in the NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship, bowing to Lee University, 57-53, Friday afternoon in Oman Arena.
The Lady Bison limited Lee to just 28.6 percent shooting from the field and made repeated defensive stops as they rallied from an eight-point second-half deficit, but after tying the game at 43 with 8:18 remaining, they gave up four straight free throws and could draw no closer than two points the rest of the way.
OBU was led by junior forward Gabriell Mattox, who scored 16 points and added 14 rebounds.
Senior guard Amy Pryor hit three 3-pointers in the first half to keep the game close as Lee led 34-30 at intermission.
The final 20 minutes amounted to a defensive battle for both teams as each scored only 23 points.
“We really fought and played well defensively,” OBU coach John McCullough said. “We just could not hit shots consistently.”
Senior guard Taujhnae Travis finished with eight points, converting two of seven shots from the field and converting four of six free throws.
Trailing 43-35 with 12:59 left, OBU reeled off four straight field goals — including three buckets by junior forward Samantha Smith — to tie the score.
After a defensive stop, Travis was called for traveling on a cut to the basket with 7:53 left. McCullough received a technical foul — his first of the season — while arguing the call, and Lee’s Brooke McKinnon converted the free throws to give the Flames a lead they would not give up.
Playing in an eight-team bracket in the 32-team national tournament field, OBU was the No. 2 seed and Lee was No. 3. The teams traded the lead 10 times in the opening half.
The Flames pulled ahead by six with 1:22 remaining after freshman reserve Julia Zimmerman hit her third 3-pointer of the half and sophomore Kally Eldridge hit two free throws to make it 34-28.
OBU’s offense started slowly in the second half, hitting just two field goals until their 8-0 run. The team missed six 3-point attempts in the final period. The Lady Bison finished the contest shooting 38.2 percent from the field.
The win gave Lee a measure of revenge after OBU ended the Flames’ 2009 season with a 70-54 victory in the NAIA quarterfinal round. That victory advanced the Lady Bison to their first Fab Four appearance.
The fourth-ranked Lady Bison closed the season with a 31-4 record, recording the second-most wins in a season in the program’s history. The team earned a share of the Sooner Athletic Conference regular season title, claiming back-to-back titles for the first time since the 1982 and 1983 seasons.
Lee, ranked 10th in the final NAIA poll, improved to 30-5 on the season and will face Vanguard in the quarterfinal round Saturday afternoon.
Travis, who claimed her second-straight conference Player of the Year Award, finished her OBU career with 579 points, amassed in just two and a half seasons for the Lady Bison.
Friday’s game also was the final OBU contest for six other seniors, including three starters: Ashley Harrell, a guard from Camden, Ark.; Pryor, from Norman; and Vedrana Milakovic, a forward from Stockholm, Sweden. Also concluding their Lady Bison careers were four-year players Jayme Glover, a guard from Edmond; Jessie Donnel, a forward from Edmond; and transfer guard Jasmine Brown from Houston, Texas.
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JACKSON, Tenn. — Despite a stifling defensive effort, Oklahoma Baptist University could not muster enough offense to advance in the NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship, bowing to Lee University, 57-53, Friday afternoon in Oman Arena.
The Lady Bison limited Lee to just 28.6 percent shooting from the field and made repeated defensive stops as they rallied from an eight-point second-half deficit, but after tying the game at 43 with 8:18 remaining, they gave up four straight free throws and could draw no closer than two points the rest of the way.
OBU was led by junior forward Gabriell Mattox, who scored 16 points and added 14 rebounds.
Senior guard Amy Pryor hit three 3-pointers in the first half to keep the game close as Lee led 34-30 at intermission.
The final 20 minutes amounted to a defensive battle for both teams as each scored only 23 points.
“We really fought and played well defensively,” OBU coach John McCullough said. “We just could not hit shots consistently.”
Senior guard Taujhnae Travis finished with eight points, converting two of seven shots from the field and converting four of six free throws.
Trailing 43-35 with 12:59 left, OBU reeled off four straight field goals — including three buckets by junior forward Samantha Smith — to tie the score.
After a defensive stop, Travis was called for traveling on a cut to the basket with 7:53 left. McCullough received a technical foul — his first of the season — while arguing the call, and Lee’s Brooke McKinnon converted the free throws to give the Flames a lead they would not give up.
Playing in an eight-team bracket in the 32-team national tournament field, OBU was the No. 2 seed and Lee was No. 3. The teams traded the lead 10 times in the opening half.
The Flames pulled ahead by six with 1:22 remaining after freshman reserve Julia Zimmerman hit her third 3-pointer of the half and sophomore Kally Eldridge hit two free throws to make it 34-28.
OBU’s offense started slowly in the second half, hitting just two field goals until their 8-0 run. The team missed six 3-point attempts in the final period. The Lady Bison finished the contest shooting 38.2 percent from the field.
The win gave Lee a measure of revenge after OBU ended the Flames’ 2009 season with a 70-54 victory in the NAIA quarterfinal round. That victory advanced the Lady Bison to their first Fab Four appearance.
The fourth-ranked Lady Bison closed the season with a 31-4 record, recording the second-most wins in a season in the program’s history. The team earned a share of the Sooner Athletic Conference regular season title, claiming back-to-back titles for the first time since the 1982 and 1983 seasons.
Lee, ranked 10th in the final NAIA poll, improved to 30-5 on the season and will face Vanguard in the quarterfinal round Saturday afternoon.
Travis, who claimed her second-straight conference Player of the Year Award, finished her OBU career with 579 points, amassed in just two and a half seasons for the Lady Bison.
Friday’s game also was the final OBU contest for six other seniors, including three starters: Ashley Harrell, a guard from Camden, Ark.; Pryor, from Norman; and Vedrana Milakovic, a forward from Stockholm, Sweden. Also concluding their Lady Bison careers were four-year players Jayme Glover, a guard from Edmond; Jessie Donnel, a forward from Edmond; and transfer guard Jasmine Brown from Houston, Texas.
