Goodwell, Okla.— The Lady Aggies secured a victory over the Central Christian College Tigers on Thursday night, taking home the win 85-84. The Aggie men were overtaken by the Tigers in the final moments of an exciting shootout that extended in to double overtime, 105-108.
Addison Munsch led the Aggies to their sixth conference win of the season with a game-high 26 points with 4 assists and 8 rebounds. Munsch stayed strong through all four quarters, sinking of 10 of 13 field goals and holding a 75% average from beyond the arch.
Nadia Hayes earned her second double-double of the season, adding 11 points and coming in strong on the defense, securing 14 rebounds. Another strong defender was
Hannah Faulks, who brought in 12 rebounds, and
Naomi Rodriguez hauled in 22 points for the Aggies with 6 assists and 2 steals on the evening.
The Aggies started off strong, outscoring the Tigers in the first half (17-12). CCC kept the score close throughout the second, but 3 points from Rodriguez at the foul line to close out the second pulled the Aggies ahead (33-31) at the half. Munsch, Rodriguez, Hayes and
Shambri Kelso came out fighting in the third, adding 18 points in the quarter to pull away with the lead (53-39). Three fast breaks from Munsch within the first four minutes of the fourth quarter brought the Aggies up (63-42). Consecutive fouls by the Tigers gave the Aggies 10 points from the free-throw line and a field goal in the paint from Rodriguez in the final minute sealed the win for the Aggies (85-64).
This pivotal win brought the Aggies to .500 on the season at 10-10 and they are currently 6-8 in conference. Head Coach
Victor Esparza stated, "I am proud of the way we played. We had a great focus to us and we were up to the challenge. I was really happy with our efforts rebounding the basketball, and the way we were able to handle the pressure and really attack the basket and get open shots." He continued, "I'm proud of the way Naomi played tonight, she was a big part of the win. She did a great job handling the ball and making plays for us. Addison was also big for us; when we needed to get a score she came up big."
The Aggie men were edged out in the final moments of double overtime in a fight to the finish with the Tigers. Alan Hodge fought hard throughout both halves, bringing in a game-high 35 points with 5 assists and 5 rebounds.
Breiman Alexander followed with 21 points and 8 rebounds.
Khallid Edwards and
Jaedon Whitfield brought in 15 and 9 points, respectively, and
Baris Ulker earned his tenth double-double of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Both teams suffered on missed shots from the foul line, but the Aggies fought to stay in the game shot-for-shot with the Tigers throughout regulation and into overtime. The second half ended with a tie at 80 points to start the first overtime where both teams traded for the lead. The Tigers were up (93-96) with 9 seconds left, Ulker secured a rebound to give the Aggies a chance and a pivotal shot from beyond arch by Edwards tied the score (96-96) to initiate the double overtime. The Tigers held the lead for the first 3 minutes of the second overtime before a 3 ptr. from Alexander two points in the paint from Whitfield edged the Aggies ahead, but two unanswered shots from the Tigers in the last minute of play would move them ahead for the win (105-108).
Head Coach
Aaron Coombs stated post-game, "I have to credit Central Christian for making big shot after big shot. I think this game came down to the fact that I was 100% outcoached in the second half." He continued, "I'm proud of my team's competitive fire; My guys played with unbelievable heart and this is in no way on them. They deserve better and we will be better."
The Aggie's now sit 12-8 on the season and are 7-7 in conference play.
Both teams will face another SAC contest on Feb. 2 against Langston University. The Lady Aggies till take the court in Anchor D Arena at 2 p.m., followed by the men's game at 4 p.m. Live stats and streaming of both games will be available on opsuaggies.com for those keeping up at home.
The following week, the Aggies are on the road Feb. 7 to take on Bacone College in Muskogee, Okla. and Feb. 9 to face No. 21 John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Ark before returning home on Feb. 12 for a contest against No. 10 Wayland Baptist.
