CHICKASHA, Okla. – Wayland Baptist came from 12 points down to take a late lead, but Science & Arts of Oklahoma scored the final seven points of the game as the No. 19 Drovers scored a 72-65 victory here Saturday afternoon to close out the first half of Sooner Athletic Conference play.
"It's frustrating to lose any time, but to play so hard and come up short hurts a little more," WBU coach
Jason Cooper said. "Today, we just made some very untimely turnovers and missed some crucial free throws down the stretch."
Wayland (10-7, 6-5 SAC) trailed 51-39 midway through the third quarter, but the Queens cut it to two going into the fourth. They then took their first lead since early in the second, 65-64, when
Taylor Houston scored with 2½ minutes to play.
But Wayland didn't score again, closing the contest with five missed field goals and a turnover. Meanwhile, USAO came through with back-to-back 3-pointers followed by a pair of clinching free throws with 37 seconds to go.
Jenna Cooper-Jackson came one assist shy of her second triple-double of the season, recording her second straight and sixth double-double of the season with 23 points and 10 boards.
Kaitlyn Edgemon added 18 points, giving her 977 career points, while the freshman Houston ended with a career-high 15 points for the second straight game.
"Jenna, Kait and Taylor put up big time numbers and efforts this weekend, but it just wasn't enough," Coach Cooper said.
For USAO (16-1, 10-1), which improved to 10-1 at home (the Drovers' lone loss was to league-leading Texas Wesleyan, 80-56, on Dec. 14 in Fort Worth), Brayanna Polk's 14 points lead six players with eight or more points. USAO hit 12-of-23 3-pointers (52 percent), including eight in the first half and five in the second quarter, while Wayland was 5-of-24 (21 percent) from deep.
"Our offensive execution was excellent today. We are shooting an incredible percentage these last two games against two of the best defensive teams in the country," said Cooper, whose squad fell Thursday to league-leading Texas Wesleyan. "Playing two teams with a combined record of 32-1 is a tough task for anyone. They are two of the best teams in the country and they showed that.
"Texas Wesleyan averages 19 offensive rebounds a game and had not been out-rebounded all year until we bested them by 10 Thursday, and we shot a great percentage that night, too."
The Flying Queens are back home next week, first hosting Southwestern Assemblies of God University (5-13, 2-9), a 66-40 winner over winless Central Christian on Saturday, at 6 p.m. Thursday. Wayland defeated SAGU in Waxahachie on Nov. 19, 69-59.
"Our girls are working their tails off, and if that continues we are going to be in good shape once the SAC gun smoke settles," Cooper said.
