Clarksville, Ark.-The Lady Eagles continued their quest for an American Southwest Conference title with a 71-62 win over LeTourneau University on Saturday to move to 10-4.
With the win, the Lady Eagles moved into first place in the East Division with a 7-2 conference record. “I don’t think that in my coaching career, we’ve ever sat in first place by ourselves,” said head coach Jack Jones. “Even in our 1996-97 conference title, we had to come from two games behind to become co-champions. It makes me feel good because the kids have put in a lot of effort and it’s now paying off. But, we’ve got to work even harder because teams will be shooting for us.” Lacey Johnson got things going early in the game with back to back three-point bombs to give Ozarks a 14-9 lead. However, the Lady Jackets were able to take back the lead with under two minutes left before intermission. A Christie Shuffield lay-up with :51 seconds left would cut into LeTourneau’s lead, but Ozarks was still down 29-31. The Lady Eagles would finally take control of the game in the second half after back to back three-pointers by Johnson and Jamie Johnson. A Mandy Thomas shot would also help the Lady Eagles remain ahead for the remainder of the game. Thomas scored a team high 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Lacey Johnson had 15 points for the Lady Eagles. Johnson hit 3 of 9 three-pointers and had 8 rebounds to go along with 3 assists and 2 steals. “Lacey’s wrist is still bothering her,” Jones added. "She is playing with pain and I commend her for that. We’ve got to turn to her for more scoring because Kristy Watts is out with an injury. She’s got to look more at shooting rather than passing.”
Topics: Athletics