Plainview, Texas – The Flying Queens picked up a massive home Sooner Athletic Conference win over the University of Science and Arts (Okla.) after
Linda Brice scored a last second layup to seal the deal.
RV Wayland Baptist (19-5, 14-4 SAC) got on the board after Brice attacked the bucket and converted the layup. With the game tied at 6 just three minutes into the game, Brice scored another layup after she received a pass from
Bobbie Fouquet. With the Queens trailing 9-8 with just under five minutes left in the opening quarter, Nestor asserted her dominance in the paint by cleaning up the offensive boards and finishing a putback layup to force USAO to call a timeout. With just over a minute until the end of the period and the Queens trialing by one,
Peyton North drained a 3-pointer off the feed from Nestor to take a 13-11 lead. Nestor gave the Queens a 15-13 lead with a late layup, but the Drovers hit a 3-pointer with just under ten seconds left in the quarter to take a 16-15 lead into the second quarter.
The Queens fell behind 22-20 after the first two minutes of the second quarter, but sophomore
Taylor Houston was able to attack for a layup to even the score at 22. The Drovers took a 34-29 lead with just under three minutes until the halftime break, but the Queens answered with 5-0 run capped off by a North and-one conversion that tied the game at 34. Each team missed a few jump shots in the last two minutes to send the game into the intermission tied at 34.
The Flying Queens got an opening spark out of the break by Nestor when she cleaned up the glass for her fourth offensive rebound of the game and finished a putback layup. With just over five minutes left in the third quarter and the Queens trailing 44-42,
Ellie Bruffey and
Emily Sigala drained back-to-back 3-pointer to help re-take the lead 48-44. After Brice sunk a pair at the free throw line to give the Queens a 50-44 lead, the Drovers went on a 9-0 run to give USAO a 53-50 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Queens and Drovers traded baskets the first 3 minutes of the fourth quarter and USAO leading 57-56, Sigala drained another 3-pointer to put WBU in front 59-57. The Drovers tied the game at 61 with just over four minutes left in regulation, but Brice hit another jumper and Houston attacked the basket for another layup to make it a 65-61 Flying Queen lead. The Drovers took a 70-69 lead with just under a minute to go, but Nestor was able to draw a foul and head to the line. Nestor made 1 of 2 free throws to give the Drovers the ball with the game tied at 70 and :18 on the clock. The drovers drove to the paint with ten seconds left, but Nestor contested the layup to force a miss which was rebounded by the Queens. Coach
Jason Cooper called a timeout with :9 seconds left in the game to draw up a go-ahead play, and the Queens executed it to perfections. Fouquet inbounded the ball to Nestor at mid-court, who then kicked the ball out to Brice who was able to attack the basket and score the game-winning bucket with three seconds remaining.
Coach Cooper was proud of his team's execution of the final play and mentioned their focus and attention to detail in practice stating, "The last play for Bobbie to hit Meg and Meg hit Linda is a great example of our girls attention to detail and focus at practice. They knew exactly what we were looking for and how to make it happen."
The Queens have now won 10 of the last 12 dating back to January 6
th against Texas Wesleyan and finish their regular season home games at 13-1. Wayland Baptist continue to hold onto the second-place position in the Sooner Athletic Conference Standings
"We are figuring things out as the season moves forward. We're learning how to stay in the fight early and how to finish."
The Queens begin a four-game road trip to end the 2024 regular season at RV Langston (18-5, 13-4 SAC) on Thursday night with second place in the conference on the line. Tip is set for 6:00 PM.
