Waxahachie –
Megan Nestor and
Kaitlyn Jerden combined for 58 points to lift the 17
th ranked Flying Queens to a 75-59 road victory against the Lady Lions of Nelson University. With the win, the Flying Queens improve to 20-2 overall on the season and 17-2 in Sooner Athletic Conference play.
Wayland Baptist was able to jump out to a quick 12-7 lead over the Lady Lions after
Megan Nestor scored eight quick points for the Queens.
Kaitlyn Jerden then went on to score the next 11 points for the Flying Queens to propel them to a 23-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Queens pushed their lead to 16-points after four straight points from Nestor made it 30-14 at the midway point of the second quarter. Nelson battled back and trimmed their deficit to nine points with just over two minutes remaining in the half, but Jerden extinguished the Lady Lion momentum with two jumpers down the stretch and gave the Queens a 38-28 lead. The Lady Lions knocked down a last-second jumper to trim the Queens halftime lead to 38-30.
The third quarter was the Jerden and Nestor show as the two forwards combined for 19 of the Flying Queens 22 points in the frame. Jerden began the frame by scoring the first five points to give the Queens a 43-33 lead. Nestor then scored the next 11 points for the Queens and capped off the run with a tough and-one through traffic to make it 54-40, WBU. Jerden ended the quarter for the Queens with a last-second three-pointer – her third three-pointer of the game – to give them a 60-40 lead.
Senior
Emily Sigala put the Queens ahead, 65-40, early in the fourth with an open three-pointer off the feed from
Peyton North. The Queens scoring ended after one final bucket from Nestor and a three-pointer from Jerden sealed the 75-59 victory for their 17
th Sooner Athletic Conference win of the season and five more to go.
Head Coach
Jason Cooper talked about the win, "We've been stressing the importance of having great first and third quarters these last few weeks. I felt like today we were very dominant in those periods and that allowed us to pull away and set the tone."
Coach Cooper continued, "I am most proud of our 20+ team assists performance. We are really seeing the floor well and sharing the basketball."
Nestor dominated the interior all game long – finishing with 32 points on 12 of 15 shooting from the floor, 16 rebounds, and two assists. Jerden was equally as dominant – scoring 26 points on 11 of 20 shooting from the floor, five assists, and four rebounds. Brice poured in five points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
Coach Cooper spoke about Nestor and Jerden saying, "Kaitlyn and Meg were too much for them to handle today. They dominated Nelson's defense inside and out."
The Queens will take the floor again on Thursday, February 6
th for a home tilt against the Eagles of Southwestern Christian University. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 PM at the Hutcherson Center.
