JACKSON, Tenn. – Oklahoma City University ended the 2010-11 season with a 54-47 loss to Shawnee State (Ohio) in the NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament quarterfinals at Oman Arena on Saturday.
The fourth-ranked Stars (27-4) attempted to come back from their largest deficit of the season, but fell short. Shawnee State took the wire-to-wire win in its first appearance in the NAIA Division I Tournament after moving up from Division II this season.
“It's unfortunate because I think this team left some stuff on the table,” OCU coach Rob Edmisson said. “You get through today, and I thought we could really put a scare in that next game too, I really did, but the basketball gods said no, go home.
“We fought hard enough to put ourselves in a position to have a chance, but we did a poor job in the first 20. You can't play 16 minutes of basketball when you're in the Elite Eight and expect to win. You just can't do it.”
OCU was led by Chasity Workman, a senior from Duncanville, Texas. Workman scored 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting and pulled down six rebounds. In the second half, Workman put in seven straight points for the Stars in the comeback attempt.
“It's always unfortunate when it's a player's last game,” Edmisson said about his group of five seniors. “No one wants to go out especially maybe the way that group played today. I thought Chasity Workman had a good day. I thought Chasity had energy. She missed some easy shots, but bless her heart, she's 5-8 trying to play with big kids.”
Tiffany Goldwire, a junior from Oklahoma City, worked for 11 points and eight rebounds in the game. Desiree Jeffries, a sophomore from Oklahoma City, chipped in eight points, eight rebounds and a team-high three assists for the Stars.
OCU trailed 27-13 at halftime before opening up the second period on a 13-3 tear. OCU got their first 3-pointer of the game when Goldwire splashed in a long range shot to set the score at 30-22 with 17:10 to play. Baskets by Lauren Gober and Workman dug into the Shawnee State lead even further to bring the Stars within four points of the lead, the game's closest moment since 2:33 in the game and a 4-0 score.
Shawnee State answered back with three 3-point baskets to extend the lead back to a 12-point advantage with 8:23 remaining. The Stars battled back with an 11-5 run to get it to 48-44 after Taylor Booze swished OCU's second triple of the contest with 2:34 to play.
The Stars made it a one-possession game when a Booze 3-pointer found its mark with 14.2 seconds and the scoreboard reading 50-47 in favor of the Bears. Shawnee State was 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the final ticks to pull off the 54-47 win.
“I think that the team made a tremendous turnaround in the second half,” Workman said. “When we were down by four, I just wanted that extra second for one extra play. I was hungry. It's bittersweet to be done. I still have that drive to want to keep on playing.”
A slow start saw the Stars climb into a 7-0 deficit six minutes into the game. OCU's first points came with an offensive rebound and lay-in by Starr Fairbanks with 14:24 on the clock. OCU was plagued by turnovers in the early going, committing 11 in the opening period while finishing with 15 in the game.
Shawnee State extended its lead to as many as 18 in the first half before Goldwire rattled off four points to end the half at 27-13 in favor of the Bears.
“They were just so lightning quick. We knew they wanted to get in an uptempo game and we were just trying everything we could to slow it down and take our time,” Shawnee State coach Robin Hagen-Smith said of the first half. “When you hold a great team like that to 47 points, we couldn't have done a better job on the defensive end.”
The 13 points in the first half marks the lowest half of the season. OCU's previous low of a 25-point first half against Lubbock Christian (Texas) on Dec. 4, 2010. OCU's lowest points ever in a half came with 11 points against Southern Nazarene on Jan. 14, 1995.
The cold shooting of the Stars was uncharacteristic as OCU led the NAIA with a 47.9 field goal percentage on the year. OCU shot 13.3 percent from the field in the first half.
“I didn't know it was possible to shoot 13 percent, but if you look statistically at the fact that we overwhelmed them on the boards, we put up 30 more shot attempts than them and forced them into 24 turnovers,” Edmisson said. It's just one of those days that you don't want to run into at any time in tournament play.”
OCU held a 38-24 rebounding edge and forced Shawnee State into 24 turnovers, including nine steals. The Stars, however, could not overcome the ice cold shooting of 28.1 percent for the game despite their best defensive efforts.
OCU graduates five seniors from the squad that finished the year as Sooner Athletic Conference regular-season champions and with an appearance in the NAIA Tournament quarterfinals.
Workman, spent one year in a Stars uniform after transferring to OCU for her senior season. She notched her fourth double-digit scoring day in the loss to Shawnee State. Workman averaged 5.1 points on 51.5 percent shooting and 3.9 rebounds a game for the Stars.
Fairbanks, a senior from Cincinnati, ends her career as a two-time all SAC selection and a 2010 NAIA all-American. Fairbanks posted averages of 12.1 points and 4.2 rebounds a game for the Stars. She leaves the OCU program with 813 career points and a 57.5 percent shooting average from the floor.
Breezy Martin, a senior from Oklahoma City, transferred to OCU in 2007 and has been a vocal and inspirational leader throughout her time in a Stars uniform. Martin finished with numbers of 856 total points scored and 425 total rebounds. She averaged 8.6 points and 4.3 rebounds a night in her three years on the court. Martin was an all-SAC selection for OCU in 2008 and 2009.
K.J. Johnson, a senior from Portland, Ore., played two seasons for the Stars and posted career averages of 4.9 points and 2.5 rebounds a night. Johnson sunk 51.5 percent of her shots from the floor in her 11 minutes a night. She leaves with 269 points and 139 rebounds for OCU.
Donica Cosby, a senior from Coldwater, Miss., leaves the Stars after two seasons and a banner career. Cosby was named a 2011 WBCA Coaches all-American and all-SAC selection this season. Last year, Cosby picked up NAIA all-American honors to go along with all-Sooner Athletic Conference, SAC newcomer of the year and SAC tournament most valuable player. Over her days playing for the Stars, Cosby has netted 878 points, 257 assists, 175 rebounds and 132 steals.
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