SILOAM SPRINGS — The John Brown women’s basketball team has been enjoying one of its best seasons in program history, but one achievement had eluded the Golden Eagles — a win against a Top 25 team.
The No. 16 Golden Eagles checked that off the list Saturday with a 67-57 win against No. 4 Oklahoma Baptist inside Bill George Arena.
With the win, JBU (21-6, 13-5 Sooner Athletic Conference) also tied the program record of 21 victories in a season that was set in 2003-04.
Sierra Shipley scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season. Brooke Barker scored 14 points and Kortni Barenberg and Lauren Rogers each scored 10 for JBU.
After losing at Mid-America Christian on Thursday, JBU head coach Jeff Soderquist said he came back home and stayed up most of the night and into the morning watching game tape. He said the Golden Eagles were missing something — intensity, spark, an extra pep in their step — since beating Wayland Baptist on Feb. 10.
“I couldn’t put a name on it,” Soderquist said. “So I called it ‘that.’”
Soderquist then showed the Golden Eagles film of what they were missing and even wrote it on the board in the locker room.
“We need ‘that,’” he said.
“That” became the Golden Eagles’ rallying cry against Oklahoma Baptist.
JBU played with something extra against the Lady Bison (23-4, 15-2). And aside from an early 2-0 deficit, they never trailed the rest of the ballgame.
“We came out and we had ‘that’ tonight” said Barenberg, a senior from Kansas, Okla. “We definitely had it tonight, and we were ready to go.”
JBU led by as many as nine points in the first half, but Oklahoma Baptist closed to within 28-25 at halftime.
The Lady Bison pulled within a point at 38-37 after a jump shot from 6-foot-4 post Zbeyda Aremi, but that was as close as Oklahoma Baptist would get the rest of the game.
JBU responded with a 7-0 run, all at the free-throw line, to go up 45-37. Barenberg split a pair of free throws, Shipley hit 4 of 4 and Tristan Carrasquillo also hit two foul shots.
Carrasquillo canned a 3-pointer for a 48-39 lead. Barker hit a layup, Rogers hit a 3-pointer in the corner and Barker hit two more free throws for a 55-42 lead with 5:06 left.
JBU would lead by as many as 19 points with 1:10 remaining after Shipley hit a pair of free throws.
The Lady Bison finished 21 of 65 (32.3 percent) from the field and 5 of 24 (20.8) from behind the 3-point line, and those numbers would have been worse if Charity Fowler had not hit three straight 3-pointers in the final minute. Fowler led OBU with 21 points.
“Tonight we couldn’t hit a shot,” said OBU coach Casi Bays. “They were good shots. We just couldn’t knock them down.”
JBU will look to get win a program-record 22nd win on Thursday when it hosts Northwood (Texas) at Bill George Arena. The Golden Eagles wrap up the regular season at home on Saturday against Southwestern Assemblies of God.
“I’m proud,” Soderquist said. “It’s been a good season. There’s still a lot more that we want to do.”
Men
John Brown 70, Oklahoma Baptist 63
The Golden Eagles won their fifth straight and seventh of their last eight games Saturday with the victory against the Bison.
JBU (19-9), which started 2-8 in league play, evened its conference record to 9-9.
Kofi Josephs led the Golden Eagles with 19 points, while Gilbert Gyamfi had 15 and Kurtis Phillips with another double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Aaron Abram led Oklahoma Baptist (13-15, 7-11) with 16 points, while Cale Jackson had 15 and Eric Stubbs 10.
The Golden Eagles hit 48 percent of their shots, including 11 of 25 from behind the 3-point line.