COLUMBIA, Mo. – Donica Cosby’s 3-pointer missed its mark as time expired in Oklahoma City University’s 68-66 exhibition loss to Missouri on Sunday at Mizzou Arena.
OCU’s Desiree Jeffries sank a jumper in the lane with six seconds left. Missouri’s RaeShara Brown missed two free throws with four seconds remaining to leave the door open for the Stars, ranked third in NAIA Division I women’s basketball.
OCU overcame 13- and 11-point deficits to have the opportunity to win the contest at the end.
The Stars last defeated an NCAA Division I team Jan. 8, 2008 in a 68-48 win over Houston Baptist. Five-time national champion OCU is tied for the most wins in NAIA women’s basketball since 2000-01.
“I’m really proud of our effort,” OCU coach Rob Edmisson said. “Our kids represented our program well. With our performance, we had a shot to win the game at the buzzer. That’s all we could ask for.”
Cosby, a senior from Coldwater, Miss., and Breezy Martin, a senior from Oklahoma City, led OCU with 15 points each. Cosby dropped in three 3-pointers, while Martin went 11-for-13 on free throws and had five rebounds and two steals.
Jeffries recorded 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals for the Stars. Tiffany Goldwire contributed seven points and team highs in rebounding (11) and steals (four) for OCU.
Brown led Missouri with 23 points, five assists and three steals.
Sydney Crafton’s free throw put Missouri up 59-48 with 7:19 left in the game. OCU chipped away at Missouri’s lead the rest of the way, cutting its deficit to three points on three occasions.
Lauren Gober took advantage of Goldwire’s steal to drill a 3-pointer to slice Missouri’s lead to 63-60 with 3:28 left. Martin’s lay-in cut OCU’s deficit to 65-62 with 2:48 remaining, and Goldwire’s free shot made the score 66-63 with 1:33 showing.
Goldwire hit another free throw, leaving OCU trailing 66-64 at the 40-second mark. Brown answered with a jumper to create a 68-64 Missouri cushion with 13 seconds left.
Shakara Jones hit a jump shot to provide Missouri its largest advantage at 24-11 with 9:40 left in the first period.
OCU rallied as Goldwire hit a free throw to cut Missouri’s edge to 35-32 with 11 seconds left in the first half.
In the second, Cosby’s trey tied the game 35-35, and Chasity Workman’s jumper knotted the score 37-37. Jeffries’ free throws put OCU ahead 41-40 at the 15:38 mark.
Missouri responded with a 10-0 run. Brown and Jasmyn Otote dropped in 3-pointers during the Tigers’ surge.
OCU faces Baptist Bible (Mo.) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena.
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