McPHERSON, Kan. – Wayland Baptist got hot in the second half and pulled away from Central Christian for a 92-67 Sooner Athletic Conference victory here Saturday afternoon.
"Both of these teams are better this season, and if you're not ready to play they're going to hit you in the teeth," Wayland coach
Alesha Ellis said of Central Christian and Thursday's opponent, Langston, which Wayland defeated 79-50. "We tried to prepare our kids that this was going to be a physical game, but it was more physical than even we thought.
"That threw us off our game."
Leading by just three, 34-31, early in the second half, the sixth-ranked Flying Queens went on an 8-0 run then ended the third quarter with eight more unanswered points to assume a 17-point, 72-55 lead. Wayland exploded for 41 points in the third period.
The Flying Queens then scored the first five of the fourth quarter, and the rout was on. A late 3-pointer by
Jessica Medcalf gave the Queens their largest lead, 27 points, 92-65.
After hitting just 2-of-18 3-pointers in the first half, Wayland put down 10-of-16 in the second half – including seven in the third quarter – and finished 12-of-34 (35 percent).
"I didn't think we were playing terribly in the first half. We held them to 25 points in the first half, which on the road especially is pretty good," Ellis said. "I felt like we were playing hard and making plays, it just all came down to knocking shots down. That's kind of been our story. Some of that is just being on the road.
"But I was proud of the kids. They kept shooting the shots we wanted and finally in the third quarter we started knocking some down."
The coach said the Flying Queens have more success when they throw the ball inside then kick it back out.
"We have a higher percentage when we kick it out of the paint. And when we start looking inside it gives us some and-one opportunities. I think we had three of those in the third quarter."
It was the 11
th straight win for Wayland (14-2, 7-1 SAC). The Tigers dropped to 5-10, 2-6.
Kaylee Edgemon led the Flying Queens with 17 points and seven rebounds, followed by
Kambrey Blakey's 15 points and seven boards.
Kelea Pool added 12 points and three blocks, and
Jenna Cooper 10.
Morgan Bennett dished out five assists.
Morgan Bennett scored six points to reach the 1,000-point plateau. The senior all-American becomes the 50th member of the program's 1,000-point club.
All 12 Flying Queens scored, and nine of them hit at least one 3-pointer.
"It's great when everybody contributes," said Ellis, who praised her players' versatility that makes for mismatch opportunities. "Kaylee and others do a good job with that."
Holly Golden led Central Christian with 16 points.
The Flying Queens shot 46 percent (32-of-70) overall from the field and 76 percent (16-of-21) from the free-throw line.
The Tigers launched 38 3-pointers, hitting eight (21 percent).
Wayland held a 48-34 rebounding edge.
The Flying Queens return home to host Oklahoma-Panhandle State (4-12, 0-8) at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The Aggies have dropped seven straight, including a 66-52 decision Saturday to Langston.
