Lady Eagles fire on all cylinders in decisive win over Cameron

 

November 11, 2018



WICHITA, Kan. (Nov. 10, 2018) – The inside-outside offense that Oklahoma Christian coach Stephanie Findley dreams of – and occasionally sees in practice – showed itself in a game Saturday afternoon against Cameron, and it was a beautiful sight.

With guards Maddison Collyer and Addy Clift knocking down outside shots and distributing the basketball and the inside tandem of Katie Mayo and Carolyne Lawley doing the work around the basket, the Lady Eagles seized control in the third quarter and posted a decisive 86-75 win over Cameron in the Heartland-Lone Star Challenge at Fugate Gymnasium.

In sweeping both games of the Challenge, OC moved to 2-0 for the first time since the 2013-14 season, when the Lady Eagles beat York (Neb.) and Southern Nazarene to open the campaign. This time around, the opposition included a couple of future Lone Star Conference foes in Midwestern State (Texas) and Cameron (1-1) within a 24-hour span.

"It feels good to start out 2-0 after a rough start last season when we were traveling so much," Findley said. "I just can't be more pleased and proud with the way the girls have played this weekend."

As they often do for Clift, the points came – 22 in all – but so did the assists, as she had a career-high seven. Collyer had eight assists to go with her 21 points (just two off her career best) and knocked down three of her four 3-point attempts.

Mayo hit 8 of 11 shots and had 17 points and six rebounds, while Lawley went 6 of 9 from the field and had 13 points, just one off her career high.

"That's how it's supposed to look," Findley said. "We've been talking to Addy about times when she should pass and times when she should shoot, because people are dogging her so hard on defense. If she can get assists – make the right pass and those people knock down shots – than those double teams are going to go away. You're not going to be able to guard her as easy when other people are scoring."

OC shot 51.6 percent (32 of 62) from the field and committed only eight turnovers – both necessary qualities while facing a Cameron squad that attempted 42 3-point shots, making 14.

The Lady Eagles led most of the way. A 15-4 run in the first quarter gave OC a 19-8 lead, but the Aggies pulled within 22-20 by quarter's end and a 3-pointer by Chelsea Heidebrecht put Cameron up 31-28 with 2:48 left in the first half. OC responded with a 10-5 spurt, led 38-36 at halftime and never trailed again.

OC's lead was only 47-45 before the Lady Eagles reeled off 14 straight points over a four-minute span, including a pair of free throws by Clift that made it 61-45. The Aggies pulled within 61-53 in the first minute of the fourth quarter, but Mayo had two baskets in an 8-0 run by OC that extended the lead to 69-53 with 7:21 left.

With OC up 81-64 with 1:27 left, Cameron made things slightly interesting with three 3-pointers in a 43-second span that made it 82-75, but Clift sealed the win with four free throws in the final 33.2 seconds.

Clift moved up a spot to No. 15 on the OC career scoring list, past OC Athletic Hall of Famer Rachel Martin (2004-07). Clift now has 1,411 career points.

The Aggies shot 34.7 percent (26 of 75) from the field but had five players score in double figures, led by Maighan Hedge with 19 points (including 4 of 8 from 3-point range) and Ava Battese (16 points). Cameron did win the rebounding battle 43-38, but Findley counted it as a small victory that the Aggies didn't dominate her team on the boards as they did last season, when Cameron beat OC twice.

OC will visit cross-Edmond rival Central Oklahoma on Thursday night before heading to Denton, Texas, where they'll face two more Lone Star foes, No. 24-ranked Angelo State (Texas) and Texas Woman's, on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The Lady Eagles eventually will play their first seven games this season away from home before hosting Dallas Christian (Texas) on Nov. 30.

"We're going to have a tough week ahead of us going into Thanksgiving," Findley said. "But if we can keep shooting the ball good, we'll keep hanging around."

 

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