Photo by Kami Wood
Bethany, Okla. – The Central Christian College women's basketball team opened the new year on the road last night in Bethany, Oklahoma, against the Southwestern Christian University Eagles.

Minus the second quarter, the Tigers were extremely competitive with the Eagles, but ultimately dropped their New Year opener 79-60. After the first 10 minutes of action, the Tigers trailed the Eagles by just three points, 18-15. In the second quarter, the Tiger offense went AWOL, and the Eagles took advantage, winning the period 23-8, taking a 41-23 lead into the halftime intermission.

After the break, the Tiger offense got back on track, scoring 18 points in the third quarter, but they were simply trading baskets with the Eagles, not getting the defensive stops they needed to make a dent in the deficit. After three quarter of play, the Tigers trailed the Eagles 62-41. In the final 10 minutes of play, the Tigers outscored the Eagles 19-17, cutting the Eagle lead to 19 points as the clock hit zeros.
 
Key Statistic

The Tigers allowed the Eagles to grab 18 offensive rebounds, which  they turned into 15 points, whereas the Tigers picked up only 8 offensive boards which resulted in 5 second chance points.

By the Numbers

The Tigers were 23 of 52 (44%) from the floor.

The Tigers hit just 5 of 19 (26%) attempts from deep.

From the charity stripe, they made  9 of 18 (50%).

Olivia Bell led all scorers in the game with 22 points. She was one of three Tigers to score in double figures.

The Tigers were outrebounded by the Lions 43 to 30, and lost the turnover battle 18 to 13.

Tiger Leaders

Points: Olivia Bell (22)
Rebounds: Briasia Garza (6)              
Assists: Briasia Garza (6)
Steals: Briasia Garza (4)
Blocks: none

Coaches Quote
 
"We played extremely hard tonight, very happy with our effort! We had a really bad second quarter, but played fairly even with them for the other three. We need to do a better job of finding shooters, start winning the 50/50 battle, and we have to rebound. But the effort was there, we just need to finish the plays. Offensively we had good looks and good ball movement. Just need to knock down shots!"– Coach Willems

Next Up
 
The Tigers (4-8, 0-6), who are opening 2024 with five games in nine days, go back on the road for game number two of the new year on Saturday. They will head back down to Oklahoma City for a 2:00 pm match-up with the Mid-America Christian University Evangels.