BETHANY, Okla. – Sisters Kaylee and
Kaitlyn Edgemon combined for 43 points and 16 rebounds, and
Jenna Cooper added 17 points and eight boards as No. 9 Wayland Baptist held on for an 80-71 Sooner Athletic Conference victory over Southwestern Christian University here Saturday afternoon.
"We bounced back and beat a solid team on the road. I am pleased with that effort," Wayland coach
Jason Cooper said. "It was a strong overall performance."
Coming off an 83-74 loss at Mid-America Christian on Thursday, the Flying Queens (20-3, 12-2 SAC) built an 18-point lead midway through the third quarter. It was still an 18-point margin very early in the fourth, but the Eagles (11-8, 6-7) hung tough and cut it to six, 77-71, with 1:17 to play.
Back-to-back turnovers by Wayland gave SCU two chances to make it a one-possession game, but the Flying Queens fended off both. WBU then sealed it at the free throw line where Cooper and
Kaylee Edgemon sank two foul shots apiece in the final 14 seconds.
Kaylee ended with 24 points and seven rebounds, while Kaitlyn contributed 19 and nine, along with five assists. The 24 points for Kaylee, who went 10-of-13 from the field, were her most since the fifth game of the season when the two-time all-American also scored 24 and since game No. 4 when she hit a season-best 28.
"We had great ball movement and really tried to get people shots in positions they were most comfortable scoring from," Coach Cooper said.
The Queens, who defeated SCU in their first SAC game, 65-55, shot 49 percent from the field (31-of-63), including 7-of-21 3-pointers, and 85 percent (11-of-13) from the foul stripe. WBU held a 34-27 rebounding edge.
SCU was led by Thamires Andrade's 25 points and nine rebounds.
WBU reached 20 wins for the sixth time in seven years, missing only last season when the team played only 14 games due to COVID-19.
The Flying Queens play their next four games and six of their final eight to end the regular-season at home, starting Thursday at 6 p.m. against cellar-dwelling Central Christian (1-19, 0-13), a team WBU defeated earlier in the season, 110-61. WBU closes next week by hosting fifth-place Langston (14-5, 9-4), which the Queens topped previously, 86-73.
