The Wayland Baptist Flying Queens put a bow on a special weekend with their most impressive victory of the season Saturday afternoon in Hutcherson Center. And the fun could just be starting.
Two days after knocking off 18
th-ranked USAO and hours after the grand opening of the Flying Queens Museum, coach
Jason Cooper's team took down No. 17 Texas Wesleyan in impressive fashion, blasting the Sooner Athletic Conference champion in the regular-season finale, 90-62. The convincing victory – Wayland's seventh straight – secured a home game for the Queens in the first round of the Oklahoma Ford Dealers Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament next Thursday.
"That was a great finish to a great weekend for the Flying Queens," WBU coach
Jason Cooper said. "I was proud of our execution. I was proud of our fight."
After being recognized before the game as the Flying Queens' lone senior,
Jenna Cooper-Jackson scorched the Lady Rams for 28 points with eight assists while
Kaitlyn Edgemon added 23 points, six rebounds and a season-high seven assists.
Ashlyn Shelley hit three 3-pointers and
Taryn Shultz two as they tacked on nine points apiece.
Wayland drained 17-of-19 free throws (89.5 percent; Cooper-Jackson was 10-of-11), but, even more impressive, committed a season-low five turnovers.
"The first time we played Wesleyan we committed 23 turnovers, which resulted in an (87-74) loss. Today, we just committed five. That's a pretty significant change and a credit to our team's determination to get better," Coach Cooper said.
Wayland (19-9, 15-7 SAC) fell behind 14-9 but scored the final 11 points of the first quarter – all by Cooper-Jackson and Edgemon – to take a 26-17 lead. Cooper-Jackson then opened the second period with a 3-pointer to complete a 14-0 run, one from which the Lady Rams (24-4, 19-3) never recovered.
"Jenna got hot and had a big run in the second quarter. That set the tone and opened the door for others to get going and get comfortable," Coach Cooper said.
The Flying Queens were up 19 at the half, 52-33, and went on to lead by as many as 32 points as they continued to knock down field goals in the third and free throws in the fourth.
"Kaitlyn did a great job, especially early in the third. She had some really nice finishes and helped us extend that lead in a big way," Cooper said. "Taryn had a huge game off the bench. It really helps when she hits big shots, and she had some great rebounds. I also thought Emily (Sigala) and Cassie (Onwugbufor) did an excellent job playing the point spot for us today. They handle the ball with poise and confidence, and that made everything so much easier.
"We shot over 50 percent from the floor (54 percent, 27-of-50) for the first three quarters of the game. That's a great testament to our determination to play team basketball and execute our game plan."
Texas Wesleyan, meanwhile, pulled down 25 offensive rebounds but shot just 24 percent (17-of-71) for the game, including 20 percent (4-of-20) from 3-point range. Kertisa Amos led the Lady Rams with 14 points while Makayla Coy and Taryn Wills added 10 each.
"All in all, I'm very proud of how hard we played and how we are playing at this time of the year," Cooper said.
Wayland needed the win – which avenged an earlier 87-74 loss – to lock down the No. 4 seed in the SAC Tournament and earn the right to host fifth-seeded John Brown (20-8, 14-8), which beat sixth-seeded Southwestern Christian on the road Saturday, 63-48. The Flying Queens and Golden Eagles square off at 6 p.m. Thursday, ahead of the men's quarterfinal game at 8.
Wayland beat JBU a week ago in Arkansas, 71-66. That followed a 68-61 loss at the Hutch on Jan. 5.
Thursday's first-round winners advance to the SAC semifinals Feb. 27 to be played along with the championship a day later at Mid-America Christian University's Gaulke Activity Center in Oklahoma City.
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| SOONER ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT |
| THURSDAY, FEB. 23 |
| Quarterfinals at Campus Sites |
| Game 1 |
No. 8 Oklahoma City (13-14) at No. 1 Texas Wesleyan (24-4) |
6 p.m. |
| Game 2 |
No. 7 Langston (16-12) at No. 2 Mid-America Christian (23-5) |
6 p.m. |
| Game 3 |
No. 6 Southwestern Christian (14-13) at No. 3 Science & Arts (23-5) |
6 p.m. |
| Game 4 |
No. 5 John Brown (20-8) at No. 4 Wayland Baptist (19-9) |
6 p.m. |
| At Gaulke Activity Center in Oklahoma City |
| MONDAY, FEB. 27 |
| Game 5 |
TBA |
1 p.m. |
| Game 6 |
TBA |
3 p.m. |
| TUESDAY, FEB. 28 |
| Game 7 |
Semifinal Winners |
5:30 p.m. |
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