SILOAM SPRINGS, AR - Texas Wesleyan Women's Basketball (4-1, 1-0 SAC) held John Brown (2-6, 0-2 SAC) to seven points in the second quarter and eight in the third quarter to defeat the Golden Eagles, 53-50 in the Sooner Athletic Conference opener.
JBU tied the game at 22 with 5:46 remaining before the half and then went cold. John Brown missed its next 12 shots and entered the locker room down 15 - the Lady Rams made 6-of-11 buckets during that icy spurt for the Golden Eagles.
The third quarter did not start any better for John Brown. Six more misses extended the squad's scoreless streak to 8:53 dating back to the first half before the Golden Eagles finally earned a bucket to trim the deficit to 16, 40-24. With the Lady Rams up 48-30 entering the fourth quarter, TXWES entered its own period of offensive woes. Texas Wesleyan missed six-straight shots and allowed JBU back into the game, giving up the next 15 points in 5:14.
John Brown's Tarrah Stephens hit a bucket in the paint with 14 seconds left, bringing the Rams margin of error to two, 52-50, but missed the ensuing free throw. TXWES converted on one of two free throws and the Golden Eagles' Marta Matamala missed a game-tying three pointer to seal the hard-fought victory on the road.
Nicole Gleason earned her third-straight double-double with a career high 12 rebounds to go along with three blocks and 14 points.
Destiney Winkfield added 10 points and two steals while
Alexus Brigham scored 11 points in 31 minutes off the bench.
Evie Whorley and
Dior Dioum each had seven boards, helping TXWES to a 49-40 rebounding edge. The Golden Eagles shot 28.2 percent.
For the fourth time in as many meetings, the Lady Rams and Golden Eagles played a game down to the wire with a single-digit margin of victory - it was Texas Wesleyan's third win in a row over JBU after the 2018-2019 sweep.
The Lady Rams will have a long break until their next game, another one in conference, this time against rival Southwest Assemblies of God on December 3. The Lions also beat John Brown this week, 69-59. TXWES' meeting with JBU Saturday started a seven game road trip that will have Texas Wesleyan on the road the entire month of December.
