Box Score GREAT FALLS, Mont. – Wayland Baptist took the NAIA's sixth-ranked team to overtime before the 10
th-ranked Flying Queens fell to Montana State-Northern here Friday night, 78-74.
Wayland (2-1) led much of the game, including by as many as nine points in the first quarter and by seven in overtime. But the unbeaten Skylights (6-0) outscored Wayland 12-1 down the stretch to hand the Flying Queens their first loss of the season.
Sophomore center
Nina Sato scored a career-high 21 points to lead Wayland.
Stephanie Afunugo added 13 points,
Laura Castillo 12 and
Maci Merket 10.
MSU-Northern got 39 points from 5-foot-6 sophomore guard Jacy Thompson, who hit 13-of-19 field goals, including 3-of-6 3-pointers, and 10-of-12 free throws. Nataliee Faupel added 16 points and Rachel Bennett 11.
Wayland jumped out to a 17-8 lead and was up 19-12 after the first period. The Skylights were within one at halftime, 25-24, and when they scored first to open the second half posted their first lead of the game.
The contest was knotted at 48-all going into the fourth quarter. A bucket by Castillo with 47 seconds left tied it at 66, and Wayland had a chance to win after an MSU-Northern turnover. However, a missed 3-pointer with some 15 seconds left in regulation brought on the five-minute overtime.
The extra period couldn't have started much better for Wayland as Merket connected on a 3-point play followed by Sato sinking a pair of buckets for a promising 73-66 Flying Queens lead with three minutes left. However, MSU-Northern answered those seven points with seven straight of their own, all by Thompson, who netted nine of the Skylights' 12 overtime points.
Wayland scored only one point in the final three minutes as a series of 3-pointers down the stretch wouldn't fall.
Wayland shot 45 percent (26-of-58) from the field, including 7-of-18 3-pointers (39 percent), and made 15-of-18 free throws (83 percent). The Queens committed just nine turnovers but were outrebounded 36-24.
The Flying Queens are back in action at 6:30 p.m. Saturday against 11
th-ranked Great Falls University (5-2). The Lady Argos are coming off back-to-back losses to California teams in a Las Vegas tournament, No. 5 Westmont (Calif.), 66-45, and No. 14 The Master's, 78-58.
