Turnovers costly for JBU women at Texas Wesleyan

FORT WORTH, Texas — Despite shooting 51 percent from the field and receiving a 19-point effort from freshman Tarrah Stephens, the John Brown women’s basketball team committed 19 costly turnovers and suffered an 8772 setback at Texas Wesleyan on Thursday night inside the Sid Richardson Center.

Junior Taylor Fergen contributed three triples and hit 6 of 11 from the field to score 16 points, but the host Rams used the JBU miscues to record 31 points off the turnovers and attempted 19 more field goal attempts.

Facing an 11-point deficit at the break, the Golden Eagles (9-19, 5-14 Sooner Athletic) saw the margin grow to as many as 30 in the third quarter before the visitors responded by outscoring the Rams by a 25-17 margin in the fourth quarter. Over the final 10 minutes of play, John Brown hit five triples and shot 9 of 15 from the field, but were only able to whittle down the Wesleyan lead to 12 before a final Rams triple returned the difference to 15.

Stephens led John Brown by shooting 9 of 17 from the field and pulled down six of the visitors’ 30 caroms. The Rams controlled the glass, however, by a 10-rebound spread and used 14 offensive boards to manufacture 14 second-chance points.

Sophomore Haley James came off the bench to provide seven points, on 3 of 6 shooting, and four rebounds in the loss.

The Ram offense featured four players in double-figure scoring, paced by Nicole Gleason’s 28-point outburst. She hit 11 of 15 from the field and added six boards and five assists in the victory.

Destiny Winkfield added 17 points while Jordan Brightwell notched 15 and nine rebounds. Wesleyan’s Makayla Coy also narrowly missed the double-double effort with 11 points and nine rebounds.

John Brown connected on 29 of 57 chances from the field and hit 12 triples, but only converted half of its two trips to the charity stripe. Conversely, the hosts knocked down 34 of 76 from the floor, including 10 three-pointers. The Rams went 9 of 11 from the free throw line.

The loss ended any chance of JBU qualifying for the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament this week. It’s the first time JBU has missed out on postseason play since 2010.

The Golden Eagles were scheduled to close out the season on Saturday in Waxahachie, Texas, at Southwestern Assemblies of God. Results were not available at presstime.