Box Score OKLAHOMA CITY – The Wayland Baptist Flying Queens threw a scare into second-ranked Oklahoma City University here Thursday night, trailing by only one point late in the game before falling to the Stars in their Sooner Athletic Conference opener in Abe Lemons Arena, 78-68.
"We competed, which is what I wanted to do," Wayland coach Alesha Robertson said. "We came back from the holidays pretty strong. we competed with that team, and that's a big statement."
Wayland (3-7, 0-1 SAC) rallied from a 12-point deficit by going on a 15-4 run, cutting OCU's 57-45 lead to 61-60 on a traditional three-point play by
Shayla Monreal with 8½ minutes left. After the Stars scored four in a row, a 3-pointer by Monreal brought Wayland to within 65-63 with 5½ minutes showing.
OCU (5-1, 1-0) then scored eight straight points, the last six on 3-pointers by Yvonte Neal.
"We had been covering out on their three-point shooters pretty good," Robertson said.
After that, Wayland was unable to mount another comeback, getting only another 3-pointer by Monreal with 23 seconds left. That was the Queens' only points in the game's final three minutes.
"The first game back (from the holidays) is almost always ugly, but it wasn't that," Robertson said. "At times we made good plays, and the girls worked hard."
Christie Mooney led Wayland with a season-best 18 points, followed by Monreal with a season-high 12 and
Angeleigh Davis with 11.
Stephanie Afunugo ended with eight points and 11 rebounds while
Iesha Greer got eight points and eight boards.
Laura Castillo finished with seven points, including an early 3-pointer that gave Wayland a 5-1 lead. OCU quickly took the upper hand and led by as many as 10 in the first half. The Stars were up at the half, 46-39.
Neal paced the Stars with 19 points, followed closely by Kayla McKenzie and Ouleymatou Coulibaly with 18 each.
OCU outscored Wayland at the free-throw line by 18, hitting 28-of-37 compared to the Flying Queens' 10-of-13. McKenzie was 12-of-17 from the stripe for the Stars.
OCU also held a decisive edge on the boards, pulling down 55 rebounds versus 35 for WBU.
"I felt like our posts didn't do very well tonight," Robertson said. "We gave up a lot of rebounds. Our post players just didn't show up."
But knowing the Flying Queens didn't have their best game and still played the 2012 national champions tough says a lot about her team.
"We still hung in there," Robertson said. "We can compete with the best."
The Queens had 18 turnovers, six fewer than OCU. Wayland shot 36 percent (26-of-73) from the field, including 6-of-17 from long range. Monreal was 3-of-4 from distance.
"It hurts when you lose them by not very much, and we've done that quite a bit this year," Robertson said. "It's time to get a 'W.'"
Wayland, after taking on three straight opponents ranked in the top 12, next plays at 1 p.m. Saturday in Bethany, Okla., against Southwestern Christian (2-7, 0-1), which lost its SAC opener to OCU, 98-58, in its last outing on Dec. 17.
"This was a good test, and now I feel like we can beat anybody in the conference," Robertson said. "We've just got to come out and play."
