The Our Lady of the Lake University Saints started out slow in the first half against Bacone College, but a fantastic comeback in the second half helped them pull off the important conference win against the Warriors 61-54 at Mabee Gymnasium. The Saints improved their record to 10-11 and 6-5 in the conference while Bacone dropped to 9-10 and 4-7 in conference.
The Saints scored their first points at 17 minutes into the first half after a field goal by Ashley Hicks. They quickly fell behind 6-18, the largest Bacone lead of the game. The Warriors had total control of the first 12 minutes of the first half, but at 8:44, the Saints snapped into action after Alisha Crump was fouled. This resulted in a seven-point run for the Saints. Janice Davis of Bacone made a three-pointer with less than five minutes in the half that gave the Warriors the opportunity to score five more points to take the score to 18-23. A field goal by Hicks and a three-pointer by Stacey Darnley tied the score at 23, and with two seconds left in the half, Darnley broke the tie to give the Saints the lead 25-23.
Within the first four minutes of the second half, the two teams would tie the score four times before the Saints took an eight-point lead on a three-pointer by Darnley. The Warriors would come within three points of regaining the lead, but a three-pointer by Elizabeth Hampton would give the Saints the lead throughout the rest of the game.
The Warriors finished with 28 turnovers, while the Saints had 19. The Saints shot 34% from the field and 61.1% of their free throws. They had 20 defensive and 16 offensive rebounds. Krystal Manning led the Saints in scoring with 12, while Hicks led in rebounds with eight. Priscilla Roel for the Warriors was the game's highest scorer with 21.
The Saints will play conference leader Langston University on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Mabee Gymnasium. Langston is 11-0 in conference and 15-6 overall.