Golden Eagles fall to Bellevue; record drops to 2-4

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. — An 11-2 run midway through the first quarter erased a difficult start, but Bellevue (Neb.) regained the lead for good and pulled away in the fourth quarter as the John Brown University women’s basketball team fell 76-58 on day two of the

College of the Ozarks (Mo.) Classic inside Keeter Gymnasium on Saturday.

Freshman Tarrah Stephens continued her torrid scoring pace by launching her sixth-straight doubledigit scoring effort of the season by pacing the Golden Eagles (2-4) with 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the field. She also grabbed a team-best eight rebounds.

Bellevue rolled to a quick 9-0 lead, but the Golden Eagles finally responded as six different players scored, including a triple from senior K.J. Roh, to tie the score at 15 apiece. The Bruins never trailed after finishing the quarter on a quick 4-0 spurt.

John Brown shot just 37.5 percent from the field (21 of 56) and could only connect on 4 of 18 chances behind the arc.

Elexis Martinez led four Bruins in double figures while Jerrene Richardson dropped in a season-high 19 points, Cassie Jones chipped in 11, and Faith Ross added 10 to go along with a careerhigh nine boards.

Junior Taylor Fergen added 11 points on a 7 of 8 effort from the charity stripe to accompany six rebounds and a trio of assists. Haley James figured in double-digit scoring for the third time in four games, scoring 11 points.

John Brown finally returns home for the first time since the season opener in time to welcome Southwestern Assemblies of God to Bill George Arena in its Sooner Athletic Conference opener at 6 p.m. Thursday.