Clarksville, Ark.-The Lady Eagles turned things around in the second half to edge University of Dallas 63-57 Saturday afternoon in Clarksville.
Ozarks (3-7) won its second straight game, but needed a late push to overcome a double-digit second half deficit. The Crusaders (4-5) held the lead for all but about six minutes of the game. Ozarks made just 1-of-15 from the three-point line in the game, but that one proved to be huge as it came when Ozarks trailed 57-56 with less than a minute to play. Chelsea Glasscock found April Young open on the perimeter and Young promptly hit the three to put Ozarks ahead 59-57. The Crusaders then missed a shot on their next possession and fouled Glasscock. Glasscock hit both of her free throws with 30 seconds remaining to give Ozarks a 61-57 cushion.
“We rushed some things and got real impatient in the first half on the offensive end,” said head coach Carl Ramsey. “Defensively we didn’t contain very well or block out. But in the second half we did a better job of slowing down and making the extra pass and got the ball inside more. We also stepped up defensively to make the stops we had to have. Early in the season, when we had a lead we didn’t know how to finish. Anytime you win, it builds confidence and I think the overtime win we had before Christmas helped our confidence today.”
Ozarks struggled from the field in the first half, hitting only 8-of-29 (27%) of their field goal attempts. University of Dallas shot 42 percent from the floor in the first half and controlled the tempo early on. The Crusaders built a 27-13 lead with 6:16 left in the half and went into halftime with a 36-27 advantage.
The Crusaders held a 47-37 lead with 13:49 remaining in the game, but Ozarks slowly cut into the deficit behind a pair of Ashley Teague jumpers. Teague’s shot with 10:47 left got Ozarks to within 49-44. Alison Villines would later hit back-to-back shots to narrow the gap to 51-50. Ozarks would finally take their first lead of the second half when Sabrina Goddard scored inside with 6:24 to go. Following Goddard’s basket, Ozarks would give up the lead only once the rest of the way.
Four Ozarks players reached double figures, with Young scoring a team-high 14 points. Goddard, Glasscock and Villines each had 10 points.
Ozarks will play four straight American Southwest Conference games on the road beginning with a January 7 date against Schreiner University. Ozarks will then head to Seguin, Texas, to face Texas Lutheran University January 9. Ozarks will later travel to Longview, Texas, to face LeTourneau University January 14 and Marshall, Texas, to face East Texas Baptist University January 16.
Topics: Athletics