Hillcats Soar Past Flying Queens, 73-56
Sierra Corwell tallied 17 points and four steals in the Hillcats win. SHAWNEE, Okla. -
The No. 14 ranked Rogers State women’s basketball team moves onto the
semifinals at the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament with a 73-56 win over
Wayland Baptist in the opening game of the tournament on Thursday at Noble
Complex on the campus of Oklahoma Baptist University.
The Hillcats got off to a quick start in the openings
stanza, using a 14-0 run capped off by consecutive three-pointers by Kelby
Fritz and Leah Smith to take a 16-5 advantage. RSU held the double digit lead
for most of the first half but the Flying Queens chipped away at the deficit
through the final eight minutes. WBU held the Hillcats scoreless for three
minutes and used an 11-0 run to cut the Hillcat advantage to three points with
five minutes to play in the half. Smith drove to the basket and hit a layup to
stop the run however; the Flying Queens continued to chip away at the lead
trailing by one point with a minute to play in the stanza. Sierra Cornwell
nabbed a steal and hit a layup to give RSU a three-point advantage at
intermission.
WBU cut the RSU lead to one point to start the second stanza
before Logan Froese tallied back-to-back buckets to ignite the Hillcat offense that
used a 15-6 spurt to push the lead to 12 points. RSU built a 16-point lead with
12 minutes to play but the Flying Queens cut the Hillcat lead to single digits
with an 8-0 run as RSU led 55-47 with 9:30 remaining in the game. RSU made
consecutive shots to regain the double digit lead and held the advantage the
rest of the way.
Froese and Cornwell led the Cats with 17 points apiece. The senior
duo each went 8-for-10 from the field. Smith rounded out the Cats in double
figures with 12 points. The Hillcats shot 55 percent from the field and edged
WBU on the boards 35-31.
Rochelle Norris led the Flying Queens with 14 points and
Angeleigh Davis followed with 12 points.
Rogers State (23-8) return to action on Friday as they take
on the winner of second seeded Lubbock Christian and seventh seeded St. Gregory’s
at 1 p.m. inside Noble Complex. Live audio will be streamed on the Hillcat
Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live
and on RSU Radio 91.3 FM.
