Box Score
Before this weekend, only one player on the Wayland Baptist Flying Queens roster had ever experienced a win over John Brown University. That changed on Saturday.
Senior
Iesha Greer notched a career scoring high for the second straight game, and Wayland gave up just 14 second-half points as the Flying Queens ended a four-game skid against the Golden Eagles, winning a Sooner Athletic Conference contest on Saturday in Hutcherson Center, 64-44.
"I'm glad we came out with a win," said Wayland coach
Alesha Robertson-Ellis, whose team improved to 9-7 overall and 5-2 in the SAC. "It was a good win."
The victory came following challenge by Robertson-Ellis to her team at halftime, when after trailing much of the first half and by as many as five points, Wayland led by three, 33-30.
"I asked (the team) at halftime, 'Are we going to get beaten by John Brown for the rest of our lives or are we going to do something about it?'" Robertson-Ellis said.
They did something about it.
The Flying Queens outscored the Golden Eagles 31-14 in the second half, when John Brown hit just 20 percent of its field goals (6-of-30) and missed all three of its free-throw attempts.
"They stepped up the second half," Robertson-Ellis said, adding that she was especially impressed by her team's defense. "We played a lot better on defense. We were getting over the top of their screens. A lot of that is just digging deep and finding a way to get it done. Defense is mostly effort, and to beat teams you have to have the effort. We didn't have that the first half."
Greer ended with 26 points to top her previous career best of 22 set a week earlier against Science and Arts of Oklahoma. The senior post, who often used her speed to blow past John Brown defenders for layups, made 11-of-18 field goals and 4-of-6 free throws. She also came down with a team-high eight rebounds, just missing what would have been her fourth double-double in five games.
"Iesha did an amazing job. She stepped up and led the team like she knows how to," Robertson-Ellis said. "And she can do a lot more. She was the (player) we wanted to highlight today, and the team did a good job of getting her the ball and she did a nice job of executing.
Stephanie Afunugo added 12 points and
Shawna Monreal got 10, along with six assists.
The Flying Queens prevailed despite not having starting point-guard
Laura Castillo, who was injured in the first half.
"With Laura going down, Shawna took over that point-guard position and did well," the coach said.
She said the entire second-team contributed valuable playing time.
"That's important because instead of letting things go down, we need a spark from them when they come in because they're fresh," Robertson-Ellis said. "That's a big sign of improvement when you get that from your second-string.
"Teamwork did it for us today."
John Brown was led by Eliana Fernandez with 12 points. Brooke Barker put in 10.
Wayland made 13-of-27 field goals (48 percent) in each half, and the Flying Queens were 9-of-15 (60 percent) at the foul stripe. WBU held a 43-32 edge in rebounds.
The win was a relief for the Flying Queens, who hadn't beaten John Brown since the 2011-12 season.
"A lot of that could be in our heads," Robertson-Ellis said of past losses. "It kind of makes you sick as a coach when you have a legitimate chance to beat them but then you start wondering, 'Are we going to beat ourselves today?' If they're in your head it doesn't matter (how good you are)."
The game marked the first of four contests in a seven-day span for the Flying Queens, whose game against St. Gregory's (2-14, 1-6) on Thursday was postponed to this coming Monday due to wintry weather. St. Greg's fell to No. 2 Oklahoma City on Saturday, 105-65.
WBU ends next week in Oklahoma taking on No. 8 Oklahoma Baptist at 6 p.m. Thursday then USAO at 1 p.m. Saturday.
