Drovers Use a Strong Defensive Effort to Hold off the Golden Eagles

CHICKASHA, Okla. – Saturday afternoon, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (14-10, 12-8 SAC) stayed hot with a 57-49 win against John Brown University (12-12, 10-10 SAC). 

With four games remaining in the regular season, the Drovers sit in sixth place in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings. The top eight teams in the conference qualify for the conference tournament, and the top four seeded teams will host the first round, prior to the tournament being moved to Langston University for the semifinals and finals. 

On Saturday, the game opened with a back-and-forth opening quarter, with USAO holding a slim 15-13 advantage after 10 minutes of action. The second quarter was also tightly contested, with the Drovers narrowly outscoring the Golden Eagles 17-15 to take a 32-28 lead into halftime. 

Following the break, it was more of the same as USAO edged JBU 14-13 in the third quarter to take a 46-41 advantage into the fourth. The Drovers did a good job holding off the Golden Eagles in the final 10 minutes, outscoring JBU 11-8 to close out the win.

USAO's offense closed the game shooting 23-59 (.390) from the field, 5-24 (.208) from beyond the arc, and 6-8 (.750) from the free-throw line. In comparison, John Brown shot 16-55 (.291) from the field, 7-30 (.233) from deep, and 10-13 (.769) from the charity stripe. 

The Drovers scored 22 points in the paint and hauled in 41 rebounds. In comparison, the Golden Eagles scored 16 points in the paint and grabbed 39 rebounds. 

USAO committed 16 turnovers, which led to 10 points for JBU. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles fumbled the ball 22 times, resulting in 19 points for the Drovers.

USAO was whistled for 13 fouls, while JBU was called for 12 violations.

The Drovers were led by a trio of double-digit scoring performances, highlighted by Evangelia Davlakou with 19 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Hannah Harris recorded her third double-double of the season, finishing with 12 points, 12 rebounds, and two steals. Davielis Berroa concluded with 10 points and three rebounds. 

Alexia Corrales added eight points and four steals off the bench. Franka Kraus and Devynn Harris each closed the game with four points. Madison Hays hauled in 10 rebounds and dished out five assists. 

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Drovers will return to Brisco McPherson court for Senior Night on Saturday, February 13 as they host a double-header against No. 22 ranked Mid-America Christian University. The women's game is scheduled to tip-off at 6:00 PM CT, followed by the men's game at 7:45 PM CT inside Drover Fieldhouse. 

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