Amber Wheeler scored 21, Livia Brito scored 13, and Courtney Creed added 12 as the SBU Lady Bearcats defeated Southeastern Oklahoma State 79-76 in their season opener at the Chatter's Roundball Classic in Pittsburg, Kansas.
SBU (1-0) trailed by as many as 13 in the first half, and went to the locker room down by nine. The SE Oklahoma Savage Storm (1-1) had the luxury of hitting on 10 of their 3-point attempts in the first half, but connected on none in the second half. Head Coach Jim Middleton said the 3-point topic was obviously discussed at halftime. "I told them to keep playing tough. And I told them that there is nothing less important than the halftime score."
The SBU second half was characterized by great blocking out, outstanding rebounding, and key adjustments in defense.
SBU captured its first lead with 12:30 to go in the second half. After the next hard-fought 11 minutes, the score was tied with 1:30 to play, when Amber Wheeler hit a key 3-pointer. After a SE Oklahoma score, Wheeler was fouled with 36 seconds remaining, and made only her second free throw attempt. With SBU up by two with 20 seconds remaining, Courtney Creed made a key steal and was fouled. As did Wheeler, Creed missed one and made one, putting SBU up by three. SE Oklahoma missed their 3-point attempt in desperation, to end the game in SBU's favor, 79-76.
In addition to her 13 points, Livia Brito added 10 rebounds for a double-double.
After the game, Middleton was very impressed with his team's 'gutty performance.' He said, "They never quit playing hard, even when they were down by 13. In fact, he added, "that seemed to make them play even harder."
SBU is back in action Saturday night when they play Missouri-St. Louis. Tipoff is at 5:30 pm in Pittsburg, Kansas.
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