Sierra Shipley made sure her final game in Bill George Arena ended with a John Brown victory.

The 5-foot-9 senior intercepted an inbounds pass with 12 seconds left, then made one of two free throws to push JBU’s lead to two. Southwestern Assemblies of God missed a potential game-tying shot, but Shipley yanked down the rebound and was fouled again in the waning seconds.

She then added two more free throws to seal the 59-55 victory a week ago.

That sequence is no surprise to JBU women’s basketball coach Jeff Soderquist. Shipley leads the team in scoring, averaging 16.5 points per game, but that doesn’t begin to explain the meaning of the first-team all-Sooner Athletic Conference selection to the Eagles, Soderquist said.

“You look across the board what she’s meaning to our team efficiency-wise,” Soderquist said. “She’s really come into it this year. She’s our leading rebounder, has a positive assist-to-turnover ratio and leads the team in steals. Scoring gets a lot of attention, but she’s just been very consistent over the whole year. I think she had a chance of winning the Defensive Player of the Year, too, in the conference. She’s just done a great job for us.”

Shipley has been the best player on arguably the best team in school history. The Eagles, currently ranked No. 20 in the country, set a school record for wins (25) and lost in the SAC tournament finals on Saturday. They will now wait for a likely at-large bid to the NAIA national tournament.

Soderquist acknowledged getting the ball into Shipley’s hands is a top priority, but maybe even moreso after starting point guard Eliana Fernandez was lost to a season-ending knee injury.

“If we get the ball in Sierra’s hands then good things will happen,” Soderquist said. “I don’t know if that’s changed now with the injury, but maybe the importance of making her our playmaker even more.”

One thing has changed with the injury to Fernandez is Shipley’s minutes have increased, Soderquist said.

“She’s probably up around 37-38 minutes a game now, compared to 33 or 34 before,” Soderquist said.

She’s made steady improvement statistically, leading the team in scoring as a sophomore and junior along with this season. Shipley ranks No. 7 on JBU’s all-time scoring list with more than 1,400 points, along with one of the top long-range shooters in school history. She ranks second in career 3-pointers made and in the top 10 in the country this year in 3-pointers and 3-point field goal percentage.

Shipley deflects any talk about her personal success, instead talking about the team’s outstanding accomplishments this season. She insists she only wants to help the team win.

“Eliana was definitely one of the players who made plays for us,” Shipley said. “I’m just looking to play basketball. If I’m open I’ll shoot and if they guard me I’ll look for someone who is open.”

Shipley acknowledged feeling a little fatigue with the increased minutes late in the season, but Soderquist has also given her Monday off from practice in order for her to stay fresh. Both agreed that’s worked well. Her numbers say that as well.

She’s averaged a shade under 20 points per game her last four games, after being limited to just four in a loss at Mid-America Christian. Shipley also earned SAC Player of the Week honors for Feb. 11-16.

Shipley’s Fayetteville coach Bobby Smith has enjoyed watching Shipley during her college career some. He was hoping to see her play on senior night. But ironically his daughter was playing in the junior high regional tournament across town in Siloam Springs at the exact same time JBU was playing.

Smith has watched her game grow and mature, but he’s not shocked either by her success. Smith raved about Shipley’s work ethic throughout high school, which has obviously served her well in college.

“She’s one of the best perimeter shooters statistically I ever had,” Smith said. “The second half of her senior year she shot 54 percent from the 3-point line. And it’s not like people didn’t know. Those were contested and sometimes deep threes.”

But like in college her game and work ethic weren’t limited to just scoring, Smith said.

“She never wanted to be deficient in any area,” Smith said. “She’s an outstanding shooter, but she could take it to the hole with either hand. She wanted to be accomplished in all aspects of the game.

“She started on a team that finished undefeated and ranked nationally and was one of most trusted defenders. Her judgment and instincts were so good. Put that with the work she put in and you’ve got a very wellrounded player.”

Seeing Shipley develop into and outstanding player is one of the fun things for a coach, Soderquist said.

“As a coach you see what they can be, it’s delightful to see them reach that potential,” Soderquist said. “Her scoring has gone up. But she’s become a complete player. I’ve coached a lot of good players and she’ll go down as one of the all-time greats.”