It is assumed that after a month off for winter break most teams will most likely return to the court a little rusty in January. However, USAO’s women’s basketball team (9-3, 5-1 SAC) broke that stereotype against Wayland Baptist University (WBU) (9-3, 4-2 SAC) as the Drovers delivered a dominating win from the very first shot.
The onslaught began when Diaka Berete, a junior guard, swished a three-pointer through the net. The next possession, Berete tallied her second three-pointer for the night. Senior guard Jordan Bloomfield followed suit with her own three to increase USAO’s lead to 9-2. The threes did not stop there are Berete downed another three after an assist from Bloomfield. The first quarter saw six three-pointers from the Drovers, and as the first quarter concluded USAO was ahead 30-15.
Berete stayed hot in the second, as she drained another three right off the bat. On the defensive side of the game, USAO found themselves in slight foul trouble in the beginning half of the game, as both teams saw nine fouls each across the first two quarters. Lainey Morrow, a senior forward, and Toni Fortune, a senior guard, worked their way into the scoring column. By halftime, the Drovers lead with a score of 52-29.
As the third quarter began, the Drovers were becoming more strategic on the court as the team’s foul count increased. Berete, Bloomfield, and Devyn Harris each added three-points to USAO’s score. AS the crowd began to count down “3…2…1…” Harris shot a three and the Drovers watched as it swished through as the buzzer sounded. As USAO headed into the final quarter, the score was 78-45.
The fourth quarter started off slow as no one showed in almost three minutes, but finally WBU made a set of free throws to try to dig out of the deficit they were in. Several Drovers came off the bench throughout the game and did their part for the team, as USAO slowly increased their lead. The final score was 96-60.
USAO made program history as the Drovers picked up their tenth program win against the Flying Queens, and this was the largest win margin the Drovers had in a victory over WBU. In 2007, the Drovers beat WBU by 27 and tonight the Drovers won by 36 points.
As a team, USAO shot 34-76 (.447) from the field and 13-36 (.361) from behind the arc. The Drovers were 83.3% from the charity stripe. Berete was USAO’s leading scorer with 26 points, with six shots from behind the arc. Bryanna Polk, a senior guard, and Trinitee Alexander, a junior forward, had a dozen points each. Polk had nine assists and four rebounds, while Alexander had five rebounds. Bloomfield had 11 points, three rebounds, and one block. Fortune had four steals.
In comparison, WBU shot 21-56 (.375) from the field, 5-18 (.278) from behind the arc, and 13-19 (.684) from the free throw line. Bobbie Fouquet was WBU’s leading scorer with 15 points, six rebounds, and two steals.
USAO will be back in the Drover Fieldhouse Saturday, Jan. 6 at 2 p.m. against Oklahoma Panhandle State University (OPSU).
Emily Loughridge is a third-year Communication major at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.
