Clarksville, Ark.-The U of O women's basketball team fought through a full-court defensive press from start to finish and outscored Ecclesia 44-20 in the second half to cruise to a 79-51 win in their season-opener Tuesday night.
Ozarks (1-0) had five players in double figures and jumped out to a nine-point lead early in the first half only to see Ecclesia (0-7) cut it to 17-14 at the 12:21 mark. The Lady Eagles would then extend their lead to 29-21 with 4:47 remaining in the first half. But Ecclesia would eventually tie the game, 31-31, with 1:10 left in the half. Serena Clokey’s layup with 16 seconds left pushed Ozarks to a narrow 35-31 lead at halftime. Both Sabrina Goddard and Ashley Teague scored 11 first half points. Ozarks would open the second half with a barrage of three-pointers to go ahead 44-31 in the opening minutes. Chelsea Glasscock hit back-to-back three’s and April Young would nail one to give the Lady Eagles a lift. Ozarks’ guards then weaved through a continuous Lady Royal press to get a number of easy second half baskets. Ozarks distributed 22 assists in the game, mostly on fast-break opportunities.
Ozarks’ lead ballooned to 63-43 with 7:07 left in the game on a pair of Glasscock free throws. Ashley Barry later followed with an inside shot and Young drilled another three to put Ozarks ahead 71-46 with less than three minutes remaining.
Goddard led Ozarks with 15 points. Her all-around game was capped by seven blocks and seven rebounds. Glasscock followed with 14 points and Ashley Barry had 13 points and eight rebounds. Young contributed 12 points and Teague ended with 11 points, respectively.
Ozarks will head to Conway to take on Central Baptist College November 20.
Topics: Athletics