Oklahoma City, Okla. - The Rogers State women's basketball team swept its third Sooner Athletic Conference series of the season with an 84-65 win over Mid-America Christian at the Gaulke Activity Center on Thursday night.
The Hillcats were fueled by defense as they tallied their largest margin of victory so far this season in conference play. Playing without leading scorer Leah Smith and receiving limited minutes from Logan Froese, who ranks second on the team in scoring, the Cats shared the ball well, breaking the single-game record for assists with 26 in the game.
RSU opened the second stanza with an 8-1 run to take a 42-35 advantage. The six-point advantage grew to a 25-point lead thanks to a 25-3 spurt by the Hillcats with 7:30 to play in the game. The Cats swarmed the Lady Evangels with defense during the run, forcing four turnovers. The Hillcats cruised through the final seven minutes of the game, leading by 20 points or more until the two minute mark where MACU cut it to 19 points with a layup by Kelsie Dutton. But that was the most the Lady Evangels could shave off the deficit.
The first half was a battle, ending in a 34-34 tie at the break. The Hillcats started slow, struggling to find a rhythm. The score was knotted nine times in the first stanza with Sierra Cornwell leading the way for the Cats with nine points and three steals. Silva registered the final bucket of the half to keep the scored tied at intermission.
Silva led all scorers with 19 points to tie her season-high. Rician Walker had a career night with 18 points, seven assists and eight rebounds. Cornwell finished with 14 points, five assists and six steals. Kelby Fritz rounded out the double digit scorers with 11 points and five assists. The Hillcats shot 50 percent from long distance in the second half and forty percent for the game. They shot 45 percent from the field and 89 percent from the charity stripe.
The Hillcats held the Lady Evangels to shooting just 34 percent from the field in the contest. Kourtni Williams led MACU with 16 points and 11 rebounds. RSU won the battle on the boards 46-38.
Rogers State (19-6, 9-2) returns to action at the Claremore Expo on Saturday as the Cats take on the University of Science and Arts at 3 p.m. The game will be streamed live on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live and on RSU Radio 91.3 FM.
