OKLAHOMA CITY - Rogers State women's basketball (3-3) battled former Heartland Conference rival Oklahoma Christian (3-1), but a late shooting spree from the Eagles made the difference, as OC defeated the Hillcats 76-66 on Tuesday.
 
"I thought our girls played hard all night, but just could not finish at the rim," said Head Coach Heather Davis. "We missed too many foul shots, and missing 10 free throws is unacceptable. We must figure out how to be more efficient in scoring and have to make free throws. I was pleased with how we rebounded. We cut our turnovers in half in the second half and did a good job getting them into foul trouble.".
 
Ella Hafer led all scorers with 24 points and made nine field goals, which were both season highs for her. She also snagged five rebounds. Bailey Layman scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds. Emma Kay Martin and Kate Melton each dished out three assists. Jaiana Wiggins pulled down five rebounds. 
 
The first quarter was tight early, with a lot of offense. It featured two lead changes and one tie, but the Hillcats pulled away and led 11-6 midway through the first quarter. However, both offenses struggled to score the rest of the quarter with RSU leading 13-11 heading into the second quarter. 
 
The Hillcats extended their lead out to 21-15 in the second quarter with plays like Jones grabbing an offensive rebound and scoring the putback with 5:43 left in the half. However, the Eagles went on an 8-0 run in the span of less than two minutes, to take the lead back at 23-21. Laymen hit a 3-pointer to stop the run, but OC took the lead back and didn't trail the rest of the period, carrying a slim 33-32 advantage into the break.
 
RSU opened the third quarter on a 6-2 run to go back up 38-37. The period was tightly contested and featured four lead changes and four ties. OC was able to build out a five-point lead as they drained a shot as the clock expired to lead 54-49 going into the fourth quarter. 
 
The final 10 minutes saw the Eagles slowly begin to pull away as they pushed out to a 64-55 lead with four minutes to play and eventually claimed the 76-66 win.
 
Rogers State will return to the court on Saturday, Nov. 30 as they travel to Arkadelphia, Ark. for a meeting with Henderson State. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.