OKLAHOMA CITY – The Rogers State women struggled shooting Thursday inside the Eagles Nest as the Oklahoma Christian Eagles soared past the Hillcat women, 70-45.
 
The Hillcats flashed sharp shooting early but were unable to stretch the success from behind the arc throughout the game.
 
An opening Madison Dearmin 3-pointer gave RSU the lead at 3-0 and a Heather Roberts behind the arc bucket stretched the lead to 6-2 before the Eagles scored nine unanswered points over the next 2:13. The Hillcats would make just two more field goals over the remaining seven and a half minutes in the quarter.
 
OC would use an 11-0 run to close the first and open the second quarter building a 13 point advantage after holding a21-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Hillcats struggled offensively in the second quarter with just two field goals made, including a 3-pointer, as OC outscored RSU 16-7 in the period. The Eagles led 37-19 at the intermission.
 
Nikola Nedoroscikova opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer to draw the Hillcats back within 15 points but OC would use seven straight points to pull the lead to 46-24 with 5:20 left. The second half saw OC fire 50 percent from the field as the Eagles led 53-31 entering the fourth.
 
The Hillcats shot 31.6 percent from the field in the fourth quarter of play but saw too little too late as the Oklahoma Christian earned a 70-45 win over RSU.
 
RSU was led by Heather Roberts with seven points as the Hillcats shot just 25.8 percent from the field. The Cats connected on seven 3-pointers and out-rebounded the Eagles 47-43 including an impressive 15 offensive rebounds for RSU.
 
McKenzie Stanford led all scorers with 19 points while Addy Clift chipped in 12 and Sarah Parker added 11 points as the Eagles shot 41.8 percent from the field. Oklahoma Christian (14-12, 9-5) forced 16 turnovers with 10 steals leading to 17 points off turnovers.
 
The victory marked career win number 600 for Eagles longtime head coach Stephanie Findley.
 
Rogers State (8-17, 3-11) will be back in action Saturday in Austin, Texas versus the St. Edward's Hilltoppers at 1 p.m. RSU Radio 91.3 FM and the Hillcat Network will broadcast the action at SEU with live audio streaming available at www.rsuhillcats.com/live.