Women's Basketball | 11/30/2019 6:47:00 PM
Box Score SAN ANTONIO, Texas - A furious third quarter rally by the Oklahoma Panhandle State University women's basketball team proved not to be enough, losing to Keiser University, 70-62, in its final game of the OLLU Saints Classic. The loss dropped the Aggies to 3-5 overall.
Panhandle trailed after the first period, 18-16, after the teams stayed close to each other. Early in the second stanza, OPSU led 21-20, following a three-point basket from Vanessa Gonzales at the 7:50 minute mark. But the Seahawks would got on a 9-0 run – leading 29-21 – before the run was stemmed by a layup by the Aggies'
Shay Audrain with 4:30 left until the break.
Keiser had its largest lead of the half, 11 points (35-24), with 2:03 remaining. KU kept that 11-point distance, 37-36, heading into the locker room at the half.
Panhandle came out of the break and played an inspired third quarter. The Aggies got to within a single point, 51-50, by the quarter's end and most of the damage done in the final 3:35 minutes. That's when
Cassia McCaskill and
Naomi Rodriguez buried back-to-back treys that cut the margin to 49-44.
After a bucket by the Seahawks that increased their margin to 51-44, a 6-0 run by OPSU tightened the gap. Rodriguez and
Kaylee Morgan both hit consecutive jumpers and, with two tics on the third period clock, McCaskill converted a pair of free throws.
But Keiser built its lead back up to seven points by the waning minutes of the game as the Aggies desperately tried to overtake them down the stretch (after briefly leading early in the final quarter). Morgan went coast-to-coast on a layup with 54 seconds left and canned a three-point basket from the right corner with 12 seconds remaining. But in between, the Seahawks made all four free throws to keep the Aggies at bay for the 70-62 final.
Audrain, the freshman from Stratford, Texas, was once again the model of consistency for OPSU Head Coach
Victor Esparza's squad. For the seventh-consecutive game, Audrain tallied in double-digit scoring with 12 points. Audrain was 4-of-9 overall from the floor and 3-of-7 from beyond the arc.
Junior teammate Rodriguez, a Hooker High School product, matched Audrain's 12 points. Rodriguez was 5-for-9 from the field, also making a pair of threes.
McCaskill was the Aggies final double-figure scorer with 10 points, making good on 3-of-4 field goals. She was 2-for-2 from both the free throw line and from long distance. She also had two steals on her ledger.
Shaylynn Choate,
Lowendie Laporal and Morgan all finished with identical stat lines of six points and four rebounds each.
Both teams managed 29 rebounds. Panhandle State shot 45 percent (22-49) from the field and KU was at 43 percent (21-49). The difference turned out to be free throw opportunities, as Keiser went to the line 22 times and made 22, while the Aggies went to the charity stripe just 13 times and made nine.
Panhandle State will next play another non-conference bout at NCAA II West Texas A&M University on Thursday (Dec. 5) at 5:30 p.m. in Canyon, Texas.
