Lady Bearcats Win Second Game
Southwest Baptist 87, East Central (Okla.) 63

PITTSBURG, Kan. - The Lady Bearcats handed head coach Jim Middleton a nice birthday present by defeating East Central (Okla.) 87-63 in the team's second game at the Pittsburg State Kitchen Pass Classic in Pittsburg, Kan.

The Lady 'Cats jumped out to a 22-7 lead with 11:08 left in the first half of play when Jenny Miller fed Ashley Bland to drain her first of three three-pointers in the first half, four on the evening.

SBU led by as much as 29 in the first period of play. That advantage came on a Tasha Goldsmith layup from Bland. However, the Lady Tigers of ECU scored twice to go into the locker room trailing, 47-22.

SBU shot 52.5 percent from the field in the first half, 57.1 percent from the arc.

The Lady 'Cats never looked back in the second half leading by as much as 35 points with 8:10 left in the contest. ECU closed the gap to only 24 points with a last-second jumper by Audra Rupeikaite. The Lady Tigers did not reach the 40-point range until 7:48 left on the clock in the second period.

Four Lady 'Cats ended the night with double figures and one with a double-double. Gwyn Smith had a game-high 18 points and 10 rebounds for SBU. She was followed by Ashley Bland with 14 points, Amber Wheeler with 13 points and Jenni Jones with 10 points. Both Jenny Hancock and Allison Davis had seven rebounds for second on the team.

SBU shot a game total 49.3 percent from the field (34-69), 46.2 percent from the arc (6-13) and 68.4 percent from the charity stripe (13-19). The women held their opponents to 40.4 percent from the floor (21-52), 30.8 percent in the first half (8-26). The Lady 'Cats also forced 27 turnovers Saturday.

The women will return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 5 p.m. at Southern Arkansas in Magnolia, Ark.

Boxscore - SBU 87- ECU 63