WAXAHACHIE – Wayland Baptist kept pushing after a close first half and the No. 21 Flying Queens extended their winning streak to eight with a 78-51 Sooner Athletic Conference win over Southwestern Assemblies of God.
The Lady Lions (11-8, 4-4 SAC) kept the game very close in the first half and out-hustled the Flying Queens (12-4, 7-1) early. Coach
Alesha Robertson-Ellis knew her team was rattled.
"They hustled hard and we didn't match that in the beginning," she said. "They got under our skin today and came out to win the game."
The Flying Queens didn't shoot the ball well the entire game, finishing at 38 percent. Fortunately, they picked up the slack on the defensive end and held the Lady Lions to 26 percent shooting.
"The ones that didn't shoot well did things in other areas to help us," Robertson-Ellis said. "That makes us a stronger team."
Holding a narrow 33-25 lead at half, the Queens turned up the pressure on defense at the beginning of the second half and held the Lady Lions to only nine points in the third quarter.
Everyone didn't shoot well, but junior
Shayla Monreal and senior
Stephanie Afunugo came up big for the Queens. Monreal finished with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor and 4-of-6 from the 3-point line, while Afunugo ended with 15 points and eight rebounds.
"Shayla came out and shot the ball well, and I expect that from (Afunugo) every game. We rely on Steph," Robertson-Ellis said.
The Queens received great production from the bench. Senior
Krystal Forthan earned her third double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds, sophomore
Nina Sato had a near double-double with 10 points and nine boards, and freshman
Maci Merket ended with 11 points and five rebounds. They were the major contributors to the Queens' 47-44 rebounding edge.
"Her (Sato) and Krystal's presence was good for us," Robertson-Ellis said.
The Flying Queens stay on the road for their next game at 6 p.m. Thursday against their toughest competition yet in the league-leading, No.12-ranked Oklahoma City Stars (10-4, 7-0).
"It will take us being there at all five positions," Robertson-Ellis said. "Thursday we will get to see what we are made of."?
