Clarksville, Ark.-The Lady Eagles came up with a pair of big defensive stops in the final seconds to squeeze out a 59-56 win over Central Baptist College Saturday night in Conway.
Ozarks (2-0) held a 58-56 lead after a pair of Alison Villines free throws with 27 seconds left and then forced a turnover on the Lady Mustangs’ next possession. Central Baptist then sent Chelsea Glasscock to the free throw line where she hit 1-of-2 to make it a three-point game. With six seconds remaining, Ozarks’ defense came up big as Central Baptist took a bad outside shot as the buzzer sounded. However, the Mustangs (0-4) were given the ball back with 1.5 ticks on the clock. But again the Lady Eagles’ defense made it tough as Britney Nealy’s attempt missed badly to end the game.
The Lady Eagles owned a narrow 29-26 halftime edge behind a balanced scoring attack. Sabrina Goddard, who posted seven points in the first half, was one of seven players to get in the scoring column. The teams combined for 52 shots from the field in the first half, with Ozarks grabbing 23 total rebounds. Central Baptist College took a 38-36 lead on Casey Williams’ jumper at the 15:25 mark of the second half. The game went back-and-forth the rest of the way. Ashley Barry’s layup at the 8:31 mark tied the score 44-44. But the Mustangs came back to take a 52-47 advantage on a three-pointer minutes later. April Young launched a three that made it 54-52 with less than four minutes to play. With the score tied 56-56, Villines hit a pair of clutch free throws with 27 seconds left to give the Lady Eagles a two-point cushion.
Ashley Teague, who scored 12 second half points, ended the game with a team-high 16 points. Young had 12 points and Goddard has 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Ozarks will travel to Conway to face Hendrix College Monday night.
Topics: Athletics