Flying Queens knock off No. 1 OCU again to repeat as SAC Tournament champions

A strong second half aided Wayland Baptist's rally from behind as the fifth-ranked Flying Queens posted a 68-57 victory over No. 1 Oklahoma City University in the championship game of the Sooner Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championships on Saturday afternoon at Hutcherson Center.
 
"I'm just so proud of the kids. Something that's special about this group is that they are so competitive and have a winning mentality. When faced with a challenge, they produce," Wayland coch Alesha Ellis said.
 
And that's exactly what the Queens did.
 
Kambrey Blakey led the way for Wayland (31-2) with 15 points and eight rebounds while Morgan Bennett and Jenna Cooper tacked on 14 each and combined for 11 rebounds. Also scoring in double-digits was sophomore Payton Brown, who chipped in 12 points and was named the Tournament MVP. Cooper, also a sophomore, was voted to the all-tournament team while Bennett, a senior, was given the Hustle Award.
 
Brown led Flying Queens scorers in the tourney with 52, followed by Cooper with 42 and Bennett with 40.  Bennett was all-tournament last season along with teammate Kaylee Edgemon and MVP Maci Merket, the team's graduate assistant coach this season.
 
"They've played well all season. It has been a lot of fun just watching them grow on and off the court," Ellis said.
 
The SAC Tourney title is Wayland's second consecutive, fourth all-time, and third in five years. The program's first was in 1998.
 
The Flying Queens are guaranteed a seventh consecutive trip to the NAIA National Championships starting March 18. OCU (30-3), which tied Wayland for the regular-season title, will join them in Billings, Mont., as the SAC's two automatic qualifiers.
 
The NAIA will reveal the national tournament field via a live show on Facebook at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 11.
 
"We knew it was going to be a tough game and that OCU would be ready to play, but we were prepared," Ellis said. "Being on our home court really gave us some confidence, and that was great."
 
The Queens scored the final 11 points of the first quarter to assume a 20-9 lead. But top-seeded OCU wasn't going away. The Stars battled from behind throughout the second quarter and took the advantage when Nashyla Hammons was fouled and sank both of her free throws with 12 seconds to play, leaving the Queens down by one, 32-31, at the half after being outscored 23-11 in the second period.
 
The Stars finished the half with only five fouls compared to the Queens' 11. Fourteen of the Stars' 32 first-half points came from the charity stripe.
 
Wayland opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers by Bennett and Brown and proceeded to go on a 20-9 run to take a 51-41 lead. But a very persistent OCU team cut the deficit back to single digits by the end of the third quarter, 53-45.
 
A couple of scoreless possessions from the Queens at the start of the fourth quarter provided ideal opportunities for the Stars to make it a tight game, and they did. OCU chipped away at Wayland's lead until trailing by by three, 53-50, on a fast-break shot by Abby Selzer early in the final 10 minutes.
 
But the Stars did not score for the next four minutes as the Queens started to pull away. Wayland extended the advantage significantly on a possession where Kaylee Edgemon fought for an offensive board that resulted in Cooper draining a 3-pointer. That crowd-pleasing play was followed by a steal by Edgemon and a foul by OCU's Brennyn Seagler that sent Kambrey Blakey to the foul line where she added two more points as the Queens rolled toward their 68-57 victory.
 
"This gave us that national tournament feel, and OCU is a team we'll be seeing there. It was a good way to start getting prepared for what's up next," Ellis said.
 
The Queens outscored OCU 22-13 in the third quarter and 15-12 in the fourth to grab the victory, their second over the Stars in nine days. After falling earlier this season in Oklahoma City, 70-46, Wayland defeated the Stars on Feb. 27, 65-50. Wayland has now won seven of its last nine meetings with OCU.
 
This season's rubber match saw 19 turnovers, 14 from the Stars while the Queens kept theirs to an impressive five. The Queens were barely outrebounded by the size-advantaged Stars, 42-39.
 
Wayland's victory came on 22-of-70 (31 percent) shooting, as the Flying Queens hit 13-of-40 (33 percent) from the three. OCU only made 5-of-13 (39 percent) from beyond the arc and finished 17-of-49 (35 percent) shooting overall.
 
"In preparation for nationals, we just have to really fine tune our plays and make sure we're prepared for last-second situations, which we haven't seen much of this season," Elllis said. "The other thing is just making sure our confidence is where it needs to be."
 
Ellis is preparing in more ways than one as she and her husband, WBU women's golf coach Andy Ellis, are expecting their second child, a girl, on Monday. Ellis, already the SAC Coach of the Year, next becomes mother of two and hopefully national champion coach all within the month of March.
 
Sooner Athletic Conference All-Tournament
Jenna Cooper, So., Wayland Baptist
Nadorjaye Cage, Sr., USAO
Alexis Shannon, Sr., Mid-America Christian
Brennyn Seagler, Sr., Oklahoma City
Abby Selzer, So., Oklahoma City
Hustle Award Winner: Morgan Bennett, Sr., Wayland Baptist
Most Valuable Player: Payton Brown, So., Wayland Baptist