USAO women’s basketball team (11-5, 7-3 SAC) picked up the win in a close battle against the Oklahoma City University Stars (OCU) (5-11, 4-6 SAC).
This wasn’t an ordinary game for the Drovers as it was USAO’s Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night. All staff members from USAO received free admission into the game, with the first 25 employees to enter the game receiving a $10 gift card to Interurban.
The Baptist College Ministries (BCM) Director Joe Quickle attended the event and felt privileged to be recognized by USAO’s athletic department.
“I love getting to come over and support the school and being able to express that is awesome,” Quickle stated.
The game tipped off at 6 p.m. and the first quarter started out hot for the Drovers as they led 10-2 halfway through the first quarter. USAO’s defense was their strong point as junior forward Crystal Ortiz, senior guard Brayanna Polk, and junior guard Diaka Berete all recorded a steal during the first quarter. The offensive side of the ball was impressive for the Drovers as well, as the team made over 50% of their shot attempts during this quarter. USAO would lead 19-8 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter of the game did not see as much success from the Drovers. Their shooting percentage dropped to 31.6%, as they went 6-19 on all shots. USAO also struggled to get rebounds in this quarter, only getting six during the quarter. Four of these rebounds were from senior forward Lainey Morrow. The Stars outscored the Drovers 18-13 in the second quarter, and they narrowed down their deficit just seven points at halftime. USAO would lead 32-26 at the end of the second quarter.
At halftime, USAO’s head coach Darrick Matthews said the team needs to improve on attacking downhill, making plays for one another, and scoring on open shots. He said he also wanted to see more out of his star players, to make sure they could win this game.
“I expect DB (Diaka Berete) to come back and play a little bit better and to have more patience and that is the same for Lainey Morrow, as long as they come back in and do what they’re supposed to do, I think everyone else will start playing better around them,” Matthews said.
As the Drovers headed into the third quarter, their defense had an exciting start as senior guard Jordan Bloomfield recorded her second steal of the night in the first minute of the second half. However, the Stars offense began finding their rhythmn as they shot 10-17 from the field and 3-6 from behind the arc. OCU scored 27 points in the third quarter, which USAO did their best to match. The Drovers made 7-15 shots from inside the three-point line and made 2-3 attempted three-point shots. At the end of the quarter, OCU took the lead by a narrow margin of 53-52.
Heading into the fourth quarter, Morrow and Berete performed well at getting rebounds and scoring points. Morrow recorded three rebounds in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, while Berete drained a three-point shot and a rebound in the same period as Morrow. The Drovers looked upon their key players and didn’t give the Stars many opportunities to score. Eventually, the final buzzer rang out and USAO walked away with a 76-71 victory.
As Coach Matthews stated at halftime, he knew he needed Berete and Morrow to play better if they wanted to win against OCU, which was exactly what they did. Morrow recorded her eighth double-double, while Berete recorded her fourth of the season.
To end the night, Morrow had 22 points, 14 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. She is within 20 points of joining the 1,000 point club at USAO. Berete ended the night with 17 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Polk put up 12 points and three steals, while Bloomfield followed closely with ten points.
The Drovers will have their next matchup at John Brown University, Saturday, Jan. 20 at 2 p.m.
Gary Jackson is a third-year communication major at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.
