A’Laeshia Adams scored 12 first-half points as the Ouachita Baptist University women’s basketball team snapped a 23-game road Gulf South Conference West Division losing streak with a 66-59 victory over Christian Brothers Thursday night at Canale Arena.
The last time the Lady Tigers won a GSC road game was January 23, 2006 in a 53-46 victory at Harding.
Against the Lady Buccaneers, Adams paced Ouachita (16-6 overall, 5-4 GSC West) with 15 points, while Haley Griffin and Gabby Coleman each had 14 points. Domino Miller chipped in with 10 points as Ouachita was 16-of-45 (36 percent) from the floor, but certainly made up for it by going 31-of-37 at the free-throw line for 83 percent.
Ouachita, which got off to a sluggish start, started to pull away slowly in the first half as Adams sank a pair of free throws with 3:08 remaining in the opening half to give the Lady Tigers a 21-17 lead. Adams was huge in the final seconds of the half, scoring four points – two free throws and a layup – to give Ouachita a 29-22 halftime lead.
The Lady Tigers’ lead grew to 41-29 after a Griffin jumper with 13:08 remaining. Christian Brothers (8-14, 1-8) tried to keep the game close as Crystal Shelton scored on a jumper to cut the deficit to 42-39 with 9:02 left.
Ouachita pushed the advantage to 46-39 after an Adams jumper with 7:41 remaining. But the Lady Buccaneers continued to try to cut the margin as Tameka Wooten drained a 3-pointer to trim the 50-44, with 4:40 remaining.
Erin Nigh drained a 3-pointer to cut the Lady Tigers deficit to 61-54 with 58 seconds left, but Miller sealed the Ouachita victory with 42 seconds remaining to give the Lady Tigers a 62-54 advantage. Christian Brothers couldn’t get any closer in the final seconds.
Shelton led the Lady Buccaneers with 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting, while Nigh added 10.
Ouachita returns 3:00 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 14, to Bill Vining Arena to avenge an earlier season loss to Arkansas-Monticello in a Gulf South Conference West Division game. The contest can be heard on the Ouachita Baptist University Athletic Web site at: www.obutigers.com
