Sarah Johnson had a career-high game against UAFS Thursday night.—Juunae DaiRe photo
Box Score Goodwell, Okla.— It was a happy homecoming for OPSU women's basketball Thursday evening after being off their home court for over a month, and Aggie fans were in for a thrill ride.
In a very physical match-up senior point guard Sarah Johnson led the Aggies to their first win of the season scoring a career-high 38 points in the 71-65 conference victory over the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith.
The Aggie women got off to a great start taking a 24-9 lead over the Lady Lions twelve minutes into the opening half. The Aggies controlled the lead the entire first half and turned up the heat defensively by landing 16 defensive rebounds and holding UAFS to 20.7 percent from the field and 0-10 from beyond the arc.
It was all Aggies in the second half as well until the final minute of play when the Lady Lions got within four points of the lead after sinking a pair of threes. The Aggies held strong and drained four consecutive free throws to clinch the lead for the remainder of the game. The Aggie women earned their first conference win of the season by a score of 71-65 over UAFS.
Johnson made the most of her thirty minutes of playing time by landing 40 percent from the field, scoring three of the team's six three-pointers, and shooting lights-out 19-22 from the line. Meagan Bell contributed 12 points shooting 4-7 from the field, 2-3 at three-point range, and 2-2 from the free-throw line.
Senior center Sharice Papaleo tied her season-high with 13 rebounds and also brought down two blocks against the Lady Lions. Rosa Quinonez followed with eight rebounds and Brittany Alavinejad grabbed six boards and three steals.
Coach Charles Terry is proud of how his team competed and had this to say after the game, "It feels great to get that weight off and earn our first win. This team has been really good at keeping their heads up throughout the season and this will definitely build their confidence as we continue conference play."
The Aggies move to 1-13 overall and 1-6 in the Heartland. The women will play at home again Saturday, Jan. 11 at 1 p.m. versus conference team Rogers State.
