The women’s basketball team beat Lubbock Christian University 85-81 Thursday, Jan. 1 at the Rip Griffin Center.
The Stars erased an 18-point deficit and trailed 79-69 with 3:22 to go. OCU, ranked second in NAIA Division I women’s basketball, rallied for its seventh consecutive win to go to 7-1.
Senior Rateska Brown led for the Stars with 21 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals. She shot 8-for-14 from the field and nailed three 3-pointers.
Senior Yvonte Neal notched 19 points, five rebounds and four steals while downing five treys. Senior Marisha Wallace provided OCU with 19 points, 10 rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals in her season debut.
Wallace’s jumper in the lane off Brown’s feed gave the Stars the lead 81-79 with 57 seconds remaining. Wallace added a free throw for an 82-79 edge. The Stars finished the game on a 16-2 run.
“The heart that we displayed in the last minutes of the game was priceless,” Coach Latricia Trammell said. “If we can display that sense of urgency for the entire game, this team has a chance to do something very special. I was proud of the toughness we showed to pull off the win against a very good team.”
Neal sank a 3 to knot the score 79-79 with 1:42 left. In the final 3:22, Lubbock Christian managed only Kellyn Schneider’s jumper that cut the Star’s lead to 82-81 with 46 seconds left. Brown hit a 3-pointer with 24 seconds to go for the final margin.
The Stars limited Lubbock Christian to 33.3 percent shooting from the field in the second half. Lubbock Christian shot 60.6 percent in the first half while building a 36-18 advantage midway through the period.
The Stars unleashed a 15-2 splurge to cut its deficit to 39-37 at the 3:18 mark of the first. Brown tallied seven points during the Stars’ run.
The Stars resume the Sooner Athletic Conference play against USAO at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8 in Chickasha, Okla.
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