Gallery: (2-28-2022) Women's Basketball vs. USAO
OKLAHOMA CITY – Wayland Baptist will go after its fourth-straight Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament title Tuesday after the No. 8 Flying Queens held off Science & Arts of Oklahoma in Monday evening's semifinals, 76-68.
Top-seeded Wayland (30-3) was trailing by three with just under five minutes to play but ended the game on a 15-4 run to secure the victory over the fourth-seeded Drovers (22-9). The Flying Queens hit a remarkable 22-of-24 free throws (92 percent) at Mid-America Christian University's Gaulke Activity Center.
"It was a game of attrition, pure and simple. Two teams who match up well with one another just grinding it out to the bitter end," Wayland coach
Jason Cooper said. "I'd put my money on us to execute smart and fundamental basketball late. We are mature and experienced and that stood out. We hit our free throws and made big defensive stands when it mattered most."
Kaitlyn Edgemon put in 23 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, while sister
Kaylee Edgemon, the reigning SAC Player of the Year and last year's SAC Tournament MVP, ended with 18.
Jenna Cooper secured her second double-double (she also has one triple-double) of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds to go with five assists, while
Angel Hayden just missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
Canton Moreno came off the bench for her eight points.
Wayland moves on to the tournament championship at 8 p.m. Tuesday against third-seeded Texas Wesleyan (25-5), which knocked off 22
nd-ranked MACU (27-4), the second-seeded host, 74-55.
WBU split games with TXWES during the regular-season, falling in Plainview Jan. 8, 80-54, before narrowly winning in Fort Worth Feb. 10, 61-60. The Lady Rams are ranked the equivalent of 36
th in the NAIA.
The Flying Queens already earned a spot in the NAIA National Championships by virtue of winning the SAC regular-season title. They'll host three other teams in a national tournament opening round March 11 and 12 in Plainview.
Against the Drovers (22-9), Wayland led most of the way, jumping out to a 22-11 first-quarter lead. Cooper came out hot and scored 11 of WBU's 25 in the first. Science & Arts pulled to within four, 33-29, before the Queens ended the half on a 10-2 run – getting a late 3 from
Ashlyn Shelley – for a 12-point, 43-31 lead at intermission.
The Drovers made several runs in the third, which ended with Wayland up 54-49. In the fourth, the Drovers took their first lead since the first period when they went up 62-61 with 5:45 to play. They stretched it to a three-point lead before the Queens kicked off their game-ending, win-clinching run.
Kaitlyn Edgemon scored eight points, interrupted by a 3 by Moreno, before Hayden ended the game by going 4-for-4 at the free throw line to seal it. Kaitlyn scored 11 of her 23 in the fourth quarter, when Wayland was 12-for-12 at the foul line.
"Kaitlyn stepped up big in the fourth and made some nice post-up moves and free throws," Coach Cooper said. "'Big Edge' just battled the whole game. She really did a lot tonight, besides scoring big for us. She looked like the (SAC) Player of the Year.
"Jenna had a big double-double and I was proud of how hard she battled. It is tough when the other team is keying on you, and Jenna always seems to find a way to get the ball where we need it and in the hands of who needs it.
"Angel was just solid and so poised out there. I think she's probably 95 percent from the free throw line in the fourth quarter this year. She's impressive to watch with all the little things she does.
"Canton came in and gave great minutes and hit some huge shots for us."
Science & Arts – which defeated Wayland on Jan. 6, 81-77, before WBU won five weeks later, 66-56 – placed five players in double figures, led by Kaytlen Johnson's 16 and Jordan Bloomfield's 14. Carrera Milagros, who scored 39 points in the Drovers' 92-61 quarterfinals win over Langston, ended with 13.
