Fort Worth, Texas – The Pioneers had a ferocious comeback fall just short in the Sooner Athletic Conference Semi-Final Round against the 2-seed, Langston Lions despite
Megan Nestor going for 23 points and breaking the Flying Queen Program Record for rebounds in a season with 280 total rebounds on the year so far.
The Flying Queens got out to an 8-2 start over the Lions after
Ellie Bruffey drained a three from the left wing, and
Peyton North followed a
Linda Brice layup with a three of her own on the feed from Nestor. The Lions tied the contest with just under three minutes left in the first period, but the Queens took the lead right back after Bruffey knocked down another jumper to make it 10-8. Wayland Baptist finished the first quarter down by one point, 12-11.
The Queens took the lead in the first minute of the second quarter after SAC Freshman of the Year,
Bobbie Fouquet, drilled a three to take a 14-12 lead. Langston would take a 17-14 lead, but Nestor knocked down a jumper to make it 17-16 with just over six minutes until halftime. Besides the three that Fouquet hit in the first minute of the quarter, Nestor scored the rest of the Pioneers points in the second quarter, which was only 8 points. The Queens had a tough shooting night, and in the second quarter, they shot 21.4% from the floor and 20% from 3-point range. The Lions led at the half by a score of 29-22.
The third was a wild quarter for Wayland Baptist, and the tough shooting night from the floor continued where it left off in the second quarter. The Queens only made one basket in the third quarter and finished shooting 5.6% from the floor in the frame. However, the Queens remained on the attack and were able to stay in the game by getting to the free throw line and knocking down 15 of 20. The Queens were outscored in the third only 19-17 despite the tough shooting quarter and only trailed by nine pointes heading into the final frame, 48-39.
With the deficit at nine for the Flying Queens and momentum on the side of Wayland Baptist, Nestor knocked down a jumper on the opening possession of the fourth to make it a 48-41 game. Two minutes into the final quarter, Brice attacked the basked for a nice layup to make it just a 3-point game. After the Lions got a bucket to make it a 5-point game, Sigala knocked down an open three to make it 52-20. Nestor scored another layup to make it 54-52, but the Lions answered that bucket with an 11-0 run to take a 65-42 lead with just under four minutes left in the game. Sigala knocked down another three to make it 67-59 with just over two minutes to go. Nestor scored the final bucket for the Queens, but Langston went on to win the Semi-Final contest, 71-61.
Nestor finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, and 7-8 from the free throw line. Nestor is 4
th in the nation in total rebounds per game and 1
st in offensive rebounds per game.
Emily Sigala went for 7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists.
Linda Brice added 7 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists.
The Wayland Baptist Flying Queens will now look forward to Thursday night when the NAIA will release the National Tournament Bracket. The Selection Show will begin at 7:00 PM on the NAIA YouTube page.
