OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University used a late fourth quarter rally to edge past USAO 65-58 at Abe Lemons Arena on Wednesday night.
Daniela Galindo, a senior from Shattuck, Okla., turned in her fourth consecutive game of 27 or more points in Wednesday's win. She finished with 30 points, five rebounds and five assists against the Drovers. OCU, ranked eighth in the latest NAIA Division I women's basketball poll, improved to 8-2 overall and 2-0 in the Sooner Athletic Conference. USAO fell to 6-2 and 1-1 in the SAC.
"USAO does a good job playing defense, they've got veteran players there that have seen us a lot and I was impressed because they really took away our inside game early," OCU head coach Bo Overton said. "I thought we got good shots in the first half, they just didn't go down. I just told them at halftime, 'don't panic on defense, keep being solid and these shot will start going down and we'll be fine.'"
The first half of Wednesday's contest featured eight ties and four lead changes, with neither team able to fully pull away from the other. A jumper from Taylor LaCour stretched Oklahoma City's lead to five halfway through the second quarter, but USAO quickly answered to make it a one-possession game.
After the game's first 20 minutes, the Drovers shot 37.9 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent (2-of-3) from 3-point range. OCU shot just 33.3 percent and went an ice-cold 9.1 percent (1-of-11) from downtown. Galindo led all scorers with 13 points at the break.
"She's always good because she just always knows she's going to make the next one," Overton said of Galindo. "That's how she is in practice, that's how she is in games. I think our team did a great job of getting her the ball and executing on offense that got her some good looks."
The Stars bounced back in the third quarter, hitting two of their three 3-point attempts and held USAO to 0-of-5 from beyond the arc. Then in the fourth quarter, OCU went on a 10-2 run to extend its lead to nine with three minutes remaining and put the game out of reach.
LaCour, a junior from Germantown, Texas, added 15 points and nine rebounds against the Drovers – one rebound shy of recording her second double-double of the season. Brooke Irwin, a senior from Mustang, Okla., fueled OCU with nine points, 11 rebounds and two blocks. NaShyla Hammons finished with nine points, five boards and three assists.
The two teams finished even at 30 points apiece in points in the paint, while OCU had an advantage in points off turnovers (11-8) and second-chance points (16-13). The Stars also outrebounded the Drovers 39-38.
Oklahoma City plays next against John Brown (Ark.) at 3 p.m. Saturday in Siloam Springs, Ark.