Box Score
SILOAM SPRINGS, Okla. – Fifth-ranked Oklahoma City jumped out to a 15-2 lead and Wayland Baptist never recovered as the 13
th-ranked Flying Queens were eliminated in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals here Friday afternoon, 104-71.
Nina Sato scored the first bucket of the game for Wayland, but the second-seeded Stars (27-5) tallied the next 15. Plagued by early turnovers and poor shooting, the third-seeded Flying Queens (24-6) got no closer than nine, 32-23, after that.
The 104 points were the most scored against the Flying Queens since Wayland fell to Arkansas-Monticello at the national tournament in 1990, 105-67.
Up 45-34 at the half, OCU scored the first six points of the third quarter and began to really stretch its lead. The Stars were up by 22, 73-51, going into the fourth.
Wayland was trying to defeat OCU for the third time this season, having prevailed during the regular-season, 66-57 in Oklahoma City and 73-66 on Feb. 10 in Plainview. The Stars were determined not to be swept.
Led by SAC MVP Daniela Galindo's 29 points, OCU shot 51 percent (35-of-69) from the field, including 9-of-22 3-pointers. Wayland shot 40 percent (29-of-73) overall, and just 4-of-24 (17 percent) from long range. OCU was 25-of-30 (83 percent) at the free-throw line compared to 9-of-11 for the Flying Queens.
The Flying Queens didn't help themselves with 21 turnovers. OCU turned it over 17 times.
Senior
Jada Riley matched her career-high with 18 points to lead Wayland.
Kambrey Blakey finished with 14, one off her season-high, to go with nine rebounds, while
Kelea Pool got 11 points and
Nina Sato 10.
Maci Merket,
Morgan Bennett and
Deborah VanDijk, three of Wayland's top four scorers on the season, were limited to eight points. Merket did pull down nine boards.
Besides Galindo, other Stars in double-figures were Taylor LaCour and Alexis Hill with 17 each and NaShyla Hammons with 15.
While OCU advances to Saturday's title game to face either top-seeded John Brown or Mid-America Christian, the Flying Queens await pairings for the NAIA National Championships, which will play out in Billings, Mont., March 14-18. Wayland is expected to receive an at-large bid to nationals, good for the Flying Queens' fifth straight appearance at the championships.
The 32 qualifiers and bracket are set to be released by the NAIA at 5 p.m. CST Wednesday, March 7 and can be seen for free on
NAIA Facebook.
