WEATHERFORD, Okla. (Dec. 5, 2019) – The boxscore shows Southwestern Oklahoma State won comfortably on Thursday, beating Oklahoma Christian 84-58 in a nonconference game at the Pioneer Cellular Events Center.

But stats, as they say, can often be deceptive, because for most of the game, OC made it anything but comfortable for the Bulldogs, who were last season's NCAA Division II runner-up. The Eagles held the lead for 19 minutes, 39 seconds – more than four minutes longer than did the Bulldogs, who entered the game ranked No. 25 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll.

Southwestern (6-2) poured it on during the final 7½ minutes, though, outscoring OC 32-6 over that stretch to pull away for the win. The Bulldogs hit six 3-pointers during that stretch and shot 78.6 percent (11 of 14) from the field in the fourth quarter, while OC (2-4) committed 11 of its 29 turnovers.

So while it looks like a runaway on paper, the Lady Eagles had a legitimate chance to pull off the upset. OC outrebounded the Bulldogs 40-39 and picked up a double-double from Katie Mayo (10 points, 11 rebounds), but couldn't stop the avalanche in the final minutes.

"Twenty-nine turnovers will beat you every time," OC coach Stephanie Findley said. "I thought we played great until the last seven minutes or so. We lost our focus and they started hitting shots. That turned the tide and it didn't take long for it to get out of hand."

Senior guard Connor Atkinson, making her first start for OC, matched her career high with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range. Her first 3-pointer put OC ahead for the first time at 12-9 with 4:18 left in the first quarter and her third, in the final seconds of the second quarter, gave OC a 34-32 halftime lead.

OC's biggest lead came at 39-34 with 8:11 left in the third quarter, after a short jumper by Mayo, and although Southwestern briefly went ahead later in the quarter, the Lady Eagles kept the game close. A basket by freshman Amaya Buchanan with 9:09 left in the game tied the score at 52-52.

The Lady Eagles didn't score again for 4½ minutes, though, and Southwestern pounced, causing turnovers with its physical, trapping defense and turning them into points. Maddie Sperle (21 points) and Makyra Tramble (20 points, 10 rebounds) each hit a 3-pointer as the Bulldogs scored 10 straight points to build their lead, then Tyra Aska hit three 3-pointers in the final 2:38 after scoring one point all game to that point.

Southwestern's Bethany Franks finished with nine points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals.

"We rebounded real well, but we did let the physical play affect us on the rebounds when we were getting trapped," Findley said. "They're hitting you on the arms and you've got to be strong enough to step through that."

The rest of OC's games this season will be against Lone Star Conference opponents, starting on Dec. 14, when the Lady Eagles will host Arkansas-Fort Smith.