LACEY, Wash. (Dec. 18, 2017) – Given a second chance in four days to beat a ranked NCAA Division II foe, Oklahoma Christian finished the task on Monday night.
Addy Clift scored 22 points and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:35 left, freshman Katie Mayo grabbed a clutch rebound and made two clinching free throws and the Lady Eagles stunned No. 24-ranked Seattle Pacific (Wash.) 75-70 in the opening game of the Saint Martin's Classic at Marcus Pavilion.
It was OC's first win over a ranked Division II opponent since the university began the Division II membership process with the 2012-13 season. OC (3-9) came close Friday, dropping a four-point decision at No. 14-ranked Southwestern Oklahoma State after leading by six with 2:19 left.
This time, the Lady Eagles held their late lead, going 4 of 6 from the free-throw line in the final 62 seconds and blanking Seattle Pacific (8-2) for the final 2:05 of the game.
"It was a great team win," OC coach Stephanie Findley said. "We went with a small lineup for a majority of the game and it seemed to work for us. I'm really proud of the defense we played down the stretch. Tyra Peck was huge on defense."
Clift had eight rebounds, Mayo seven and Peck five as the Lady Eagles outrebounded the Falcons 42-41. Seattle Pacific, whose only previous loss had come by a 59-57 margin to Concordia (Ore.) on Nov. 30, seemed out of sorts offensively, shooting 36.5 percent from the field and 24 percent (6 of 25) from 3-point range.
OC shot a solid 45 percent, including 36 percent (9 of 25) from 3-point range, led by Clift, who hit 6 of 12 shots from behind the arc. With her first basket of the game, she became the 30th member of OC's career 1,000-point club.
Seattle Pacific – coached by former Southern Nazarene assistant Julie (van Beek) Heisey – led by as many as eight points in the first quarter before OC rallied to take a 24-23 lead. OC was up by seven points in the second quarter, but the Falcons rallied to tie the game at 45-45 by halftime.
The Falcons jumped to a quick six-point lead in the third quarter and were up 55-49 after a basket by Courtney Hollander at the 4:58 mark. OC responded with a 15-3 run, fueled by two 3-pointers by Clift and two layups by Mayo, who scored 14 points. Megan Shelton's 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter put OC up 64-58.
OC led 68-64 with 4:46 left, but the Falcons scored six straight points and Hollander's free throw with 2:05 left put her team ahead 70-68. That's when OC clamped down on defense and Seattle Pacific missed its last four shots.
Clift's final 3-pointer gave OC a 71-70 lead and she hit 1 of 2 free throws with 1:02 left to make it 72-70. After Julia Haining missed a layup for the Falcons, Peck rebounded and eventually Clift went back to the line with :09 left. She again made 1 of 2, extending the Lady Eagles' led to three points.
Lindsay Lee missed a 3-point attempt for the Falcons and Mayo rebounded, then hit the clinching free throws.
Audrey Hayes added 13 points (on 5-of-7 shooting) for the Lady Eagles. Jordan McPhee led Seattle Pacific with 19 points, 10 rebounds and five steals while Haining had 14 points and four steals.
The start of the game was delayed by two hours because Seattle Pacific – which traveled to nearby Lacey for the game – had its bus stuck in traffic along Interstate 5. An Amtrak commuter train crashed along the highway earlier in the day, snarling traffic.
OC will face the classic's host, Saint Martin's, on Tuesday.
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