SILOAM SPRINGS — Sierra Shipley, Lauren Rogers and the John Brown women’s basketball team bounced back in a big way Monday night.
Shipley notched a career-high 28 points, Rogers scored 18 in only her second start of the season and the Golden Eagles beat Wayland Baptist (Texas) 72-63 at Bill George Arena. The rare Monday game was a makeup from a snow-cancelled game Dec. 5.
Coming off a 65-51 loss to Oklahoma City on Saturday — where JBU not only lost the game but also lost starting point guard Eliana Fernandez to a knee injury — Shipley said it was important for the Golden Eagles to bounce back.
“All I know is we’re a team,” Shipley said. “We’re going to come together and keep fighting.”
Despite Shipley’s career night, Rogers may have played the most important role in the win.
The 5-foot-4 junior — who was averaging 6.8 points and 21.8 minutes per game — started in Fernandez’s place and played more than 38 minutes and had a season-high in points. Rogers hit a 3-pointer with less than two minutes remaining to give JBU a 65-59 lead, and her teardrop shot with 40.8 seconds left kept the JBU lead at 6 points.
“(Rogers) hit some huge baskets in the second half right when we needed them,” Shipley said. “That was awesome to see her step up.
JBU’s also cashed in at the free-throw line. The Golden Eagles hit 29 of 33 from at the charity stripe, including 21 of 24 in the second half.
Shipley hit 13 of 15 from the line and scored 17 of her points in the second half. She also led the team with nine rebounds.
JBU (18-5, 10-4) trailed 32-26 at halftime but held the Flying Queens (13-10, 10-4) scoreless for the first 5 minutes and 45 seconds of the second half. During that time, JBU went on a 9-0 run to get the lead back and the Golden Eagles never trailed the rest of the way.
“We always talk to our team about the first five minutes of the second half,” said JBU coach Jeff Soderquist. “The first five minutes were a key right there.”
Rogers scored on the baseline to open the second half and cut the Flying Queens’ lead to 32-28.
Shipley sliced through the Wayland Baptist defense on JBU’s next possession and completed a three-point play. Kami Garrison’s bucket down low put JBU ahead for good at 33-32. Rogers followed with two more free throws to extend JBU’s run to start the second half.
“JBU came out strong in the second half,” said Wayland Baptist coach Alesha Robertson. “They knocked down some shots, and our defense didn’t handle it very well.”
Brooke Barker added 11 points for JBU, while Morgan Ankrom had nine points.
Laura Castillo led Wayland Baptist with 20 points, while Iesha Greer had 15. The Flying Queens outrebounded JBU 47-34, including 20 offensive rebounds. But Wayland Baptist only shot 23 of 72 (31.9 percent) from the field.
JBU and Wayland Baptist are tied in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings, but JBU holds the tiebreaker with two wins over the Flying Queens.
JBU returns to action Thursday at 6 p.m. against Texas Wesleyan at Bill George Arena.
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John Brown 90
Wayland Baptist 86
Gilbert Gyamfi’s three-point play with 1:03 left gave the Golden Eagles the lead for good in their victory against the Pioneers.
JBU trailed 83-81 after Wayland Baptist’s Barry Johnson hit a 3-pointer in the corner.
Gyamfi came down on the other end and got an off balance hook to fall plus the free throw to make it 84-83.
JBU (15-9, 5-9) got stops on three consecutive defense possessions and Kurtis Phillips, Kofi Josephs and Gyamfi combined to hit 6 of 8 free throws down the stretch.
Gyamfi and Josephs each scored 23 points to lead JBU. Quinton Smith added 16 points for the Golden Eagles, while Kurtis Phillips scored 12.
Markus Monroe led Wayland Baptist (16-8, 7-7) with 25 points before fouling out in the final minutes. Johnson scored 16, Travis Payton 14 and Plamen Hristov 10 for the Pioneers.
The Golden Eagles host Texas Wesleyan at 8 p.m. Thursday.