Feeling Charitable: Drovers Defeat the Lions in the Teddy Bear Toss Game

CHICKASHA, Okla. – Thursday evening, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (5-2, 1-0 SAC) opened conference play with a dominant 90-67 triumph against Southwestern Assemblies of God University (2-3, 0-1 SAC). It was only fitting that a game that was dubbed the Teddy Bear Toss game was riddled with trips to the charity stripe. On a night in which fans donated stuffed animals, canned food, toys, and coats, the showdown on the hardwood featured a total of 51 fouls and 60 free throws between the two teams in the 40-minute contest.

With that being said, the Drovers did an excellent job at cashing in at the free-throw line, going 29-33 (.879) at the charity stripe. In contrast, SAGU converted on 16-27 (.593) free-throw attempts.

Another major key to victory was USAO's ability to dominate the glass, and the Drovers outrebounded the Lions 54-28. The Drovers were especially impressive on the offensive end of the court, hauling in 21 offensive rebounds and converted those into 22 second chance points. 

Offensively, USAO shot 26-58 (.382) from the field and 9-27 (.333) from three-point range. SAGU went 23-56 (.411) from the field and 5-24 (.208) from deep. 

With the victory, the Drovers have defeated the Lions in each of their last seven matchups, dating back to November of 2020. 

The Drovers opened Thursday's game on a 7-0 run, but the Lions quickly cut into the deficit and tied the score at 9-9 with less than six minutes to play in the first quarter. Both teams traded buckets for the remainder of the quarter and the score was knotted at 19-19 after 10 minutes of action. 

USAO dominated the second quarter and outscored the Lions by a wide margin of 21-6 to take a 40-25 lead into the break.

Following halftime, both offenses performed very efficiently, but SAGU was narrowly able to cut into their deficit by outscoring USAO 24-23 in the third quarter. The Drovers entered the final 10 minutes of regulation with a 63-49 advantage, and they continued to stretch the lead by outscoring SAGU 27-18 in the fourth.  

Four different players scored in double figured for the Drovers, led by Lainey Morrow's third double-double performance of the season. Morrow concluded with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Additionally, she shot 6-10 from the field was a perfect 7-7 at the free-throw line.

Trinitee Alexander was one rebound shy of a double-double, finishing with 14 points and nine rebounds in only 17 minutes of action off the bench. Diaka Berete contributed 17 points and seven rebounds, followed by Jordan Bloomfield with 15 points on 5-10 shooting from deep. Through the first seven games of the season, Bloomfield has been sensational from beyond the arch and has knocked down 20 three's on a 51.3 percent clip.

Tonijah Fortune finished with eight points and four assists.

Brayanna Polk closed with four points, five assists, and three steals. Devynn Harris was perfect at the free-throw line (6-6) and Mikayla Green added five points. Crystal Ortiz grabbed eight rebounds and Qadira Hamilton scored two points. 

WHAT'S NEXT?

 The Drovers will now head south for a double-header at UNT-Dallas on Saturday, December 2. The women are scheduled to tip-off at 2:00 PM CT, followed by the men at 3:45 PM at Trinity Basin Preparatory Athletic Complex.

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