Alva Review-Courier -

OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 17, 2019) – Despite her gaudy game on the court, Addy Clift is one of the humblest superstars around. You'll find her in the gym much more often than on social media, working on all the little things that make her great.

Clift is all about hard work, and it's always satisfying to see that effort pay off in a big way, like it did Thursday for her and her Oklahoma Christian teammates. Clift scored 26 points while becoming the Heartland Conference's career scoring leader and led a parade of six Lady Eagles in double figures as OC routed Texas A&M International 105-50 in the Eagles' Nest.

OC (8-8, 1-2 Heartland) picked up a much-needed league win by doing a lot of the little things right. OC outrebounded TAMIU (0-14, 0-2) by a 53-36 margin, matched its season high in shooting at 53.5 percent (38 of 71) and shared the basketball, rolling up 27 assists on 38 baskets. The Lady Eagles also hit their free throws – 20 of 22 for 90.9 percent, led by an 11-of-11 performance by Clift.

"Just getting a win after those two tough road losses (to Arkansas-Fort Smith and St. Edward's) last week is important," OC coach Stephanie Findley said. "You want to come out and get back on the winning track, but adding the scoring record to it is just kind of the cherry on top."

Clift is known for her flashy, deep 3-pointers, but she made a living against the Dustdevils by driving and either scoring on layups or earning trips to the free-throw line, where she leads the conference, making 88.5 percent of her attempts. She entered the game needing 12 points for the record, and, fittingly, the final two of those came at the line, with 12.4 seconds left in the first quarter, putting OC up 24-18.

Those two free throws gave Clift 1,779 career points, surpassing Nia Torru of Incarnate Word (Texas), who had 1,778 for the San Antonio school from 2006-10. Clift ended the game with 1,793 points and now will set her sights on becoming only the fifth OC women's player to score 2,000 points.

"I'd heard a few people talking about it, but I tried not to pay too much attention to it," Clift said. "You just can't pay too much attention to that, because the wins are more important. Playing possession to possession is definitely more important, looking at the big picture. Thinking about points all the time, you can't do that. It will mess with you."

Findley said Clift deserves any accolades she receives.

"Anything she gets, she has earned through her hard work and that's the truth," said Findley, in her 41st season with the program, the last 34 as head coach. "I've never had anybody work as hard as Addy does."

The Dustdevils were playing their first game of the season under interim head coach Tori Tucker, who took over the program just this week, and they took advantage of a slow start by OC. TAMIU led 14-12 with 2:23 left in the first quarter after a 3-pointer by Troi Lucas, one of only three 3-pointers in 26 attempts for the Dustdevils.

That proved to be TAMIU's peak. OC cranked up its defense and began hitting shots, outscoring the Dustdevils 46-8 during the rest of the half, including 34-4 in the second quarter alone.

The onslaught continued in the second half, with OC's lead peaking at 96-38 after a 3-pointer by Connor Atkinson with 6:23 left in the game. A 3-pointer by Ali Christie put the Lady Eagles into triple digits, making it 101-44 with 2:55 left.

Clift, the second-leading scorer in NCAA Division II, had six assists and five steals to go with her 26 points. Katie Mayo went 7 of 11 from the field and had 14 points and six rebounds. Maddison Collyer (12 points), Megan Shelton (11 points, seven assists), Tyra Peck (10 points, nine rebounds) and Kendra Levings (10 points, six rebounds) all scored in double figures.

Hannah Bentsen didn't score but grabbed nine rebounds for OC.

"We kind of had a rough first quarter, it seemed like," Findley said. "Toward the end of the first quarter, we started breaking out of that, with everybody shooting a little better and sharing the ball a lot. I thought right after halftime, we were really sharing the ball well. I liked how our passing was going and moving the ball around."

OC's 105 points were the Lady Eagles have scored in a game against a Heartland Conference opponent since joining the league with the 2012-13 season. OC's previous high against a Heartland foe came in a 102-45 win over Texas-Permian Basin on Feb. 27, 2016. The 105 points also were the most OC had scored against any conference opponent since Feb. 5, 2011, when OC fell 108-107 in double overtime to Oklahoma City University in a Sooner Athletic Conference game.

Ciera Walker was the only TAMIU player to score in double figures, finishing with 15 points and seven rebounds. The Dustdevils committed 24 turnovers.

OC will host one of the Heartland's top teams, St. Mary's (Texas), on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Stephanie Findley and Addy Clift discuss the game: https://youtu.be/l-S5C2V6xTg

Addy Clift's record-setting free throw: https://youtu.be/9LBzmyQCqiQ

Addy Clift presented the game ball: https://youtu.be/TGzT9zwirTE

Addy Clift game highlights, courtesy of Eagle Media: https://youtu.be/p45ux4VC_0Q