SILOAM SPRINGS -- Taylor Fergen was determined to have John Brown's women enjoy their second victory in three nights.
The junior guard scored nine of her team-high 15 points in the final 3 minutes and fueled a late 15-6 run as the Golden Eagles claimed an 84-79 victory over Langston during Sooner Athletic Conference basketball action Thursday in Bill George Arena.
"It was hard for her because she got in foul trouble," John Brown coach Jeff Soderquist said. "When you get in foul trouble, you have to sit and you kind of get out of rhythm. But I thought she did a good job of finishing the game."
Grace Williams' 3-pointer gave Langston (7-11, 4-9) a 73-69 lead with 3 minutes, 2 seconds remaining, but the Lions mustered just one more field goal. That allowed John Brown (8-15, 4-10) to make its move as Haley James scored inside, then Fergen hit two free throws to tie the game at 73 with 2:32 remaining.
Fergen tied the game again at 75 with a bucket after Langston took the lead again with Jailynn Lawson's two free throws, then her 3-pointer with 1:31 left gave John Brown a 78-75 cushion. The Golden Eagles never let that lead go as Marta Malamala and Sara Williams each hit two free throws, then Fergen closed out the scoring after the Lions pulled within 82-79 on Talia Edwards' bucket with 21.9 seconds remaining.
"We just had a good team effort," Soderquist said. "We had five players in double figures, and we had scoring off the bench. I thought it was just that good team effort.
"We finished by hitting our free throws. Whenever you get in that situation, you want to hit free throws. We executed well, and we did a good job late of building our defense inside-out and rebounding."
Tarrah Stephens and Haley James each had 12 points for the Golden Eagles, who hit 57.1 (24 of 42) of their shots and 56.3 percent (9 of 16) from 3-point range. Ally Teague chipped in 11 and Matamala 10 for John Brown.
Edwards had a double-double with 26 points and 11 rebounds for Langston, followed by Lawson with 13 and Asheika Alexander with 12.
Langston;20;22;14;23;--;79
John Brown;19;16;24;25;--;84
Langston (7-11, 4-9): Edwards 26, Lawson 13, Alexander 12, Williams 9, Baker 7, Stembridge 6, Wisby 4, Mitchell 2.
John Brown (8-15, 4-10): Fergen 15, Stephens 12, James 12, Teague 11, Matamala 10, Altman 9, Williams 6, Martin 5, Goldman 4.
Preps Sports on 02/07/2020