Gallery: (3-17-2022) Women's Basketball vs. Rocky Mountain
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The Wayland Baptist Flying Queens picked an unfortunate time to go cold.
No. 8 Wayland was held to its lowest point total of the season here Thursday night as the Flying Queens saw their season end in the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship Round of 16 with 66-53 loss to 10
th-ranked Rocky Mountain College (Mont.).
Bracket
"Defensively, we really did what we planned to do. I was so proud of their effort in the game," Wayland coach
Jason Cooper said. "But offensively we just never could get into a rhythm."
Wayland (33-4) suffered one of its worst shooting performances of the season, making just 34 percent from the field, 22 percent from 3-point range (4-of-18), and 5-of-9 (56 percent) from the free-throw line.
"Rocky did a good job keeping us out of rhythm, and that resulted in us either missing shots we normally hit or worse, not being ready to shoot when we were open," Cooper said.
Angel Hayden, with a near season-high 17 points, was the lone Flying Queen in double figures.
"Before the game, if you'd have told me both Edgemons and Jenna would score fewer than 40 (points), I'd have said you are crazy," said Cooper, whose top three scorers – who normally average right at 44 points per game – were held to a combined 26.
WBU's 53 points were more than 30 below its season average of 84.2 and easily the team's lowest output of the season; the previous low came in a 61-46 win over John Brown University on Feb. 7. The last time WBU scored fewer was in a 70-46 loss to No. 3 Oklahoma City University on Nov. 23, 2019.
The Battlin' Bears (29-4) broke open the game in the fourth period when they outscored Wayland 18-10. It was one of the Flying Queens' lowest-scoring quarters of the season.
A bucket by Hayden brought Wayland to within 50-47 with 7:35 left in the game. The Battlin' Bears scored the next seven straight points, starting with a 3-pointer by Gracee Lekvold, and Wayladn never got closer than eight the rest of the way.
The Flying Queens scored just two points over the final 2 minutes, 52 seconds. Another 3-pointer by Lekvold with 1:37 to go sealed it, giving RMC a 12-point lead.
Kaylee Edgemon, playing her final game as a Flying Queen, and
Jenna Cooper finished with nine points each. It was the first time all season either player was held to single-digits and was the first time in the last two seasons Cooper didn't score at least 10. She went 1-of-6 from 3-point range and finished two short of tying the program record for 3s in a season with 75.
Kaitlyn Edgemon and
Ashlyn Shelley scored eight points apiece, while
Taryn Shultz accounted for WBU's only two bench points.
Angel really played well in her final game in a Queens uniform," Coach Cooper said. "What a player she was for us this season! She did so many things for us on both ends of the floor. am so grateful for her efforts this season. What a player!
"'Big Edge' was so good all year for us. She is such a great and positive leader and she played her heart out tonight. I am thankful that she decided to come back and play a fifth season. She will go down as one of the top scorers in Flying Queens history, and that is a huge accomplishment.
"Jenna had an amazing junior season. She will likely wind up leading the country in assists while scoring 18 points a game. That is incredible! I am so proud of her as a coach and father. She really did a great job for us."
Kloie Thatcher led the Battllin' Bears with 15 points, while Lekvold added 13. N'Dea Flye finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.
Wayland was credited with just two fast-break points.
Although it ended three games sooner than he would have liked, Cooper came away proud of his first Flying Queens team.
"When you think of how this team had five players on the roster on July 1 and look at how all these pieces came together and created one of the most successful teams in the country: 33-4, third round, sweet 16.
"I hope once the disappointment of tonight wears off, these girls will realize just how special and amazing this season was."
