The Flying Queens improved to 4-6 in Sooner Athletic Conference play Thursday night with a 65-51 victory over the visiting Lady Eagles of John Brown University.

 The Lady Eagles entered Hutcherson Center with a #5 national ranking in 3-pointers made. Combine that with the last minute 54-53 loss his team suffered at the hands of John Brown in early December, and coach Tory Bryant knew just what to expect.

"Our focus tonight was to run them off the three point line and contest shots," Bryant said. "With the offense they run, we had to play defense."

The Queens' winning ways began when Alex Williams won the opening tip, and Bryant's emphasis on defense helped lead to only two ties the entire game, the last of which came when the scoreboard read 4-4.

Although it's typically a team strength, John Brown shot a just 6-24 from three-point range, including 1-of-16 in the first half.  In addition, the Lady Eagles committed 18 turnovers, 10 of which came after intermission.

 "We did a good job of playing defense for 25 seconds of the shot clock tonight and contested more of their three pointers," Bryant said. "Our kids were physical, and I'm proud of the way they played."

 A proponent of depth, Bryant had nine players with points and ten that played double digit minutes. Senior forward and Plainview native Erika Raymond led all scorers with 17 points, and senior post Alex Williams chimed in with ten of her own.

Williams played arguably the most complete game of anyone on the floor, also adding an assist, a block, and three steals.  

Sophomore guard Angeleigh Davis received her first start of the season, and made her presence known with a contribution of four rebounds and led the team with four assists.

 "We're always looking for ways to tinker our lineup and see what might give us the best opportunity," Bryant said. "I really liked having her coming off the bench because she brings good energy, and that wasn't any different tonight."

After avenging one loss on Thursday, Bryant looks for similar results on Saturday when the Queens play host to Rogers State University.

"They did a good job at their place of attacking the ball inside and beating us on the boards, and we didn't score particularly well," Bryant said. "We have to go into that game with the same kind of mindset as tonight."

Tipoff for the Queens-Hillcats rematch is at 1:00 pm Saturday at Hutcherson Center.

by Jordan Herrod
Sports Information Student Assistant