SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. – The Rogers State women's basketball team opened Sooner Athletic Conference play in dramatic fashion as it defeated John Brown 55-50 at the Bill George Arena on Tuesday evening.

Senior Sasha Barnes buried a three pointer from the corner with 15 seconds remaining in the contest to give the Hillcats a 53-50 lead. With time running down, the Hillcats played solid defense and the Golden Eagles were forced to take a bad shot. Leah Smith scooped up the rebound and passed it down court to Ariani Silva who was left all alone to seal the win with a layup.

RSU led by as many as nine points in the second stanza. They opened the second half with a seven-point advantage; however JBU cut its deficit to three points with back-to-back buckets. With less than seven minutes to play Lauren Rogers sunk a pair of free throws to knot the game. The teams traded buckets and the Cats earned a little breathing room, taking a four-point lead with three minutes to play. JBU fought back to tie the game with 30 second remaining but the Hillcats came away with the win.

JBU opened the first half on a 6-2 run. The Hillcats cut the deficit to one point with a trey from Smith with 12 minutes to play in the half.  Sierra Cornwell ignited an 11-0 run with a steal at midcourt and a layup to tie the game. Silva drained a three pointer to end the half as the Hillcats earned a 32-25 advantage at the break.  

Silva led the way for the Hillcats with 18 points. Leah Smith added 11 points, three assist and two steals. RSU shot 42 percent from the field, 41 percent from long distance and 67 percent from the charity stripe.

Sierra Shipley led the Golden Eagles with 10 points.

It was the first time since the inaugural season that the Hillcat women came away with a victory in the SAC opener.

Rogers State (5-2, 1-0) returns to action on Monday as they travel to Ecclesia College for non-conference action. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. and live audio will be available at www.rsuhillcats.com/live.