Flying Queens 'don't take care of business'

Box Score According to Wayland Baptist coach Alesha Robertson-Ellis, the Flying Queens "didn't take care of business" Thursday night in Hutcherson Center as the No. 13 Flying Queens dropped a 67-65 Sooner Athletic Conference decision to the determined Southwestern Christian Lady Eagles.
 
"I was disappointed," Robertson-Ellis said. "We obviously didn't take care of business."
 
The setback – Wayland's first-ever to Southwestern Christian in their ninth all-time meeting – snapped a string off 22 straight home wins for the Flying Queens (22-5, 13-4 SAC), dating back to the end of the 2014-15 season. Also, Wayland, which fell in overtime Thursday to Texas Wesleyan in Fort Worth, has dropped back-to-back contests for the first time in more than two years.
 
More importantly, though, it slipped the Flying Queens into a tie for second-place in the conference standings with No. 17 John Brown (21-7, 13-4) with one game left in the regular-season.
 
"I think our problems are deeper than on-the-floor issues. We need to figure that out and take care of whatever the problem is," Robertson-Ellis said. "We need to have a more mature team. Right now it's important that we have on- and off-the-floor changes."
 
Against SCU (11-14, 9-8), WBU fought for the edge throughout the game, but never quite found it. After falling behind by as many as 13 points in the second quarter, the Flying Queens went into the half down 33-22.
 
WBU appeared to be figuring things out in the third quarter, and with 10 seconds left in the period tied the game at 48 on a 3-pointer by Gabby Gonzales. After back-to-back buckets by Morgan Bennett to open the fourth, everything appeared to be falling into place for the Flying Queens.
 
The Lady Eagles, though, weren't going anywhere. Six unanswered points gave SCU a 62-56 lead with just over two minutes to go. A 3-pointer by Maci Merket followed by a bucket by Kendrick Clark got Wayland within one, but the Flying Queens could never tie it or take the lead again.
 
A layup by Shawna Monreal made it 66-65 with 20 seconds to go, and after SCU's McKenna Morley made one of two free throws the Flying Queens had chance force overtime or even win.
 
After a timeout with 13 seconds to play, things never fell into place for Wayland. A mishandled ball near midcourt left time for only a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer that didn't get close.
 
"I'm mostly disappointed by the lack of effort. They showed no effort and that's unacceptable," Robertson-Ellis said.
 
The coach said her team has loads of potential, but they're "challenging me as a coach. This is making me grow."
 
Only two Flying Queens reached double figures: Bennett with 12 and Merket with 11.
 
Jade Jones came up with 14 rebounds, just two away from her personal-high of 16.
 
Wayland won the rebounding battle, 41-35, and had five fewer turnovers, but shot just 35 percent (25-of-69) from the field compared to SCU's 46 percent (24-of-52). The Lady Eagles also hit 11-of-19 3-pointers, including six by Maranda Janz who finished with 24 points. Wayland was 8-of-28 from beyond the arc.
 
The Flying Queens will be back in the Hutch at 1 p.m. Saturday to wrap up regular-season against the University of Science and Arts Oklahoma (11-14, 9-8), which defeated Bacone at home Thursday, 76-59. WBU defeated the Drovers in Chickasha back on Jan. 28, 79-66.
 
As one of the top four seeds in the eight-team SAC Tournament, Wayland will host a quarterfinal game Tuesday, but the Flying Queens want to finish as the No. 2 seed to avoid having to face No. 7 Oklahoma City (25-2, 16-1), which will host the semifinals and finals, until the championship.
 
While Wayland hosts USAO Saturday, John Brown plays at Southwestern Christian