Thursday night, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (6-0, 1-0 SAC) continued their perfect start to the season, with a 76-71 victory at John Brown University (5-1, 0-1 SAC). The Drovers and Golden Eagles each entered Thursday's showdown with unblemished 5-0 records, but USAO used their quickness and speed to overwhelm JBU.
So far this season, the Drovers have been dominant, winning by an average of 24.0 points per contest. On average, USAO is scoring 77.0 points per game, while holding opponents to only 53.0 points. The 6-0 start to the season, now trumps the previous best start in program history of 5-0, which occurred was in 2017-18, when Coach Matthews led the squad to a 29-6 record, as well as the SAC regular season championship.
The Drovers got off to an excellent start and held a 9-5 lead midway through the first quarter. USAO clung to a 16-12 lead going into the second quarter. Science & Arts picked up the pace even more in the second quarter, outscoring the Golden Eagles 23-16 in the period. The Drovers held a 39-28 advantage going into halftime.
Following the break, JBU began to trade baskets with USAO, and trimmed their deficit to 61-51 going into the final 10 minutes of action.
The Golden Eagles caught fire in the fourth quarter, and trimmed the deficit to as few as five, but the Drovers were able to hold off the charge and emerge victorious in the battle of the unbeatens.
At the conclusion of the contest, the Drovers went 28-61 (.459) from the field, and 9-23 (.391) from three-point range. In comparison, the Golden Eagles shot just 20-52 (.385) from the field, and 14-34 (.412) from deep.
USAO controlled the rebounding battle by a margin of 36-31, additionally 10 of the Drovers' rebounds came at the offensive end of the court. JBU committed 22 turnovers, compared to USAO's 18.
On average, the Drovers are forcing opponents into committing 21.7 turnovers per contest this season.
Zaria Dorsey (SR/Bronx, NY) paced the Drovers offense with 17 points on 7-12 shooting from the field, including 3-5 from three-point range. Additionally, Dorsey tallied eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
Brayanna Polk (SO/Del City, OK) and Diaka Berete (SO/Toronto, Canada) each contributed 13 points. Polk concluded with three rebounds, four assists, and three steals, while Berete added six rebounds and three assists.
Lainey Morrow (SO/Bridge Creek, OK) finished with 10 points on 4-6 shooting, in addition to three rebounds. Tonijah Fortune (SO/Oklahoma City, OK) also finished with 10 points on 4-7 shooting, along with a trio of boards. Trinitee Alexander (SO/Everman, TX) followed closely behind with nine points, four rebounds, and a pair of assists.
Jessica Palmer (JR/Anadarko, OK) and Qadira Hamilton (SO/Toronto, Canada) each scored a pair of points.
Original source can be found here
Alerts Sign-up