JBU women’s season ends at USAO

CHICKASHA, Okla. — Freshman Natalie Smith scored a career-high 21 points and sophomore Tarrah Stephens added 17, but the John Brown University women’s basketball team couldn’t erase a tough shooting start as the Golden Eagles fell by an 86-62 final to Science and Arts (Okla.) in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday night inside the Drover Fieldhouse.

The loss ended the 2021 season for the Golden Eagles, who finished 5-6 after an 0-3 start.

Hitting 8 of 14 from the field and five 3-pointers, Smith came off the bench to provide her career-best output, helping out Stephens, who shouldered the rest of the offensive burden — to the tune of 18 field goal attempts, converting on seven.

A 3 of 14 start to the night from the floor placed the Golden Eagles in an early deficit, which was compounded by seven turnovers over the first 12 minutes of the contest. Then, the visitors found some rhythm with a 24-12 run of their own over the final 8 minutes, 17 seconds of the second quarter — pulling within eight points at the intermission.

Late in the third quarter, juniors Marta Matamala and Maddie Altman, Stephens and Smith each contributed buckets in a little 8-2 spurt that brought John Brown all the way back within six points, 52-46. Smith added another triple to open the final period, making the score 58-51, but a 12-0 USAO run over the next 3:37 ended John Brown’s hopes of completing the comeback.

Matamala’s 10 rebounds accounted for one-third of JBU’s effort on the glass, as the visitors shot just 38 percent from the floor (24 of 64) and surrendered 24 points off 16 miscues. Science and Arts also controlled the paint, to the tune of a 54-30 margin.

Zaria Dorsey’s 31 points on 14-of-18 shooting from the field easily led all scorers. Milagros Carrera (20 points) and Kaytlen Johnson (12 points) joined Dorsey as the Drovers’ double-digit scorers.

Although shooting an abysmal 3 of 22 from behind the arc (14 percent), USAO hit nearly 61 percent of its attempts inside arc — and finished 37 of 78 (47 percent) overall from the field.