LANGSTON, Okla. – Wayland Baptist's Kaitlyn Edgemon hit a go-ahead free throw with five seconds left, then Langston missed a shot at the buzzer as the Flying Queens outlasted the Lady Lions in a Sooner Athletic Conference thriller here Monday evening, 74-73.

"I thought we played with a lot of grit tonight," WBU coach Jason Cooper said. "That's a very talented and athletic Langston team. We came out in the second half and really played some tough, hard-nosed basketball."  
 
Wayland (8-4, 4-2 SAC) – in securing its second one-point win in the last three games –  rallied from an 11-point deficit in the second period, going on a 12-0 run in the third quarter to take a 60-52 lead. The Flying Queens never lost the lead after that, but it was a battle the entire time.
 
After Langston – which had won five straight after an 89-68 loss to Mid-America Christian to open conference play – pulled to within 67-66 a minute into the fourth, Wayland's largest lead was four points. It was 73-69 with 2:07 to go. The Lions hit a pair of free throws a minute later, then got a bucket after a couple of offensive rebounds to tie it at 73 with nine seconds to play.
 
Wayland called timeout and ran a play similar to the one that saw Edgemon hit a game-winning buzzer-beater for a one-point victory over No. 20 Mid-America Christian nine days earlier. This time, after an inbounds pass from Ashlynn Shelley, Edgemon was fouled under the bucket and hit the first of two free throws with five seconds to play. Langston rebounded the missed second foul shot and called timeout.
 
After Wayland called its own timeout, the Lions made a couple of passes before Taliyah Harris – who scored just two points in 16 minutes – put up a shot from the left elbow that fell short as the horn sounded.
 
Besides her two dozen points, Edgemon pulled down 10 rebounds and offered five assists and blocked two shots. Jenna Cooper-Jackson wound up with 17 points, six boards and six assists while Kynnan Shields produced 14 points and eight boards. Shelley matched Edgemon's three 3-pointers as she tacked on 11 points, five rebounds and four helpers.
 
"Jenna is such a tough player to guard. She can score with the best of them in post and from the perimeter, but she is such a great facilitator on offense. Six assists to go with 17 points and she took over a lot of the ball-handling duties late, not to mention got the final block of the game on their final shot," Coach Cooper said.
 
"Ashlyn had maybe her best game since I've been at Wayland. She was all-around doing great things for us. K-Shields played so big for us. She really has become a difference maker in the paint.
 
Added the coach, "Kait had a big bounce-back after a frustrating offensive outing Saturday. She really played great defense as usual, but it is nice when she puts up those offensive numbers, too."

Two Lady Lions finished with double-doubles as Hailey Jordan got 21 points and 12 rebounds and Anyia Pride 10 and 11. Koreea Kirksey logged 15 points and Kameron Shelley 12.
 
It was WBU's third-straight win on the heels of rare back-to-back losses. The Queens will look for a fourth victory in a row when they play their final game of 2022 at 6 p.m. Thursday against Oklahoma-Panhandle State (1-8, 1-5), which fell to Langston on Saturday, 66-56.