Gallery: (11-14-2024) Women's Basketball vs Langston
Plainview – The newly 13
th ranked Flying Queens won a nail biter over
RV Langston, 78-71, to begin Sooner Athletic Conference play on a high note.
Wayland Baptist (4-0, 1-0 SAC) got off to a slow start in this one as the Lions opened up an 11-4 lead midway through the opening quarter, but the Queens would begin to gradually chip away at their deficit after junior
Megan Nestor converted an and-on to make it 13-9. Lions. The Lions wouldn't allow the Queens to overtake their lead, and they pushed their advantage to 24-15 at the end of the first quarter.
The Lions maintained their 11-point lead into the first three minutes of play in the second quarter, but the Queens got answered with a three from junior
Teodora Popovic, and a layup from senior
Emily Sigala to make it a 36-28 score. Sigala would continue attacking the interior as she scored another layup through traffic to make it 38-34, Lions, with just over two minutes until the halftime break.
Freshman
Brooklyn Hurtado asserted her presence inside the paint to draw a foul, which she would then convert both free throws to even the score up at 38-38, but two late free throws for the Lions gave them a 40-38 lead over the Queens at the halftime break.
The Queens got off to a much better start in the second half, in large part to the early dominance from
Megan Nestor as she scored the Queens' first seven points of the third quarter to give them a 43-42 lead over the Lions. The Queens pushed their lead to 51-44 after an and-one from
Kaitlyn Jerden followed by a massive three-pointer from Popovic to give the Queens all the momentum.
The Queens would end the third quarter with a
Bobbie Fouquet offensive rebound, putback layup, followed by three successful free throws from Popovic after being fouled on a three-point attempt. This gave the Queens a 62-51 lead heading into the final quarter of play.
Langston opened the fourth quarter ultra-aggressive and trimmed the Flying Queens lead to just 65-63 with just over five minutes left in regulation. After the Lions tied the game up at 65-65, Jerden would then score back-to-back buckets for the Queens to put them back in front, 69-65, with just over two minutes left in the game.
Over the final two minutes, the Queens showed how clutch they can be after knocking down 9 of 12 shots from the free throw line to secure the 78-71 victory over the Lions in their 24-25 Sooner Athletic Conference opener.
Head Coach
Jason Cooper talked about his team's performance saying, "It came down to grit. We just dug in and out-gritted them in the end." Coach Cooper continued, "I was proud of the fight we showed to come back like we did. I thought we did a great job adjusting to the way the game was being played. We took advantage of Langston's aggressive defense and got to the free throw line and that was ultimately the key factor."
Nestor finished with a team-high 16 points on 6-10 shooting from the floor, seven rebounds, and five steals. Popovic added 14 points on 4-9 shooting to go along with three rebounds in 32 minutes off the bench. Brice notched 12 points, five rebounds, and two assists. Sigala added 10 points on 3-4 shooting from the floor, four rebounds, and four assists. Jerden finished with 11 points, three rebounds, two assists, three blocks, and three steals.
Coach Cooper said, "Teodora came off the bench and gave great minutes for us. She had a nice run in the second quarter and was instrumental in getting us back in the game. Emily had some major baskets at critical times in the game. Five girls in double figures and two more with 8 and 7.. that's a nice, well-balanced game."
The Flying Queens will return to the court on Friday, November 16 for another Sooner Athletic Conference game against the Tigers of Central Christian College. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 PM.
