The Ouachita Baptist University women’s basketball had three players reach double figures in scoring as the Lady Tigers knocked off Gulf South Conference East Division foe West Florida, 70-46, Friday night during the Second Annual Dr. Mary Jane Gilbert Classic at the Steelman Fieldhouse.
Maranda Parker paced Ouachita with a season-high 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including four 3-pointers. A”Laeshia Adams recorded 13 points, while Kim Beverly added 10 as the Lady Tigers were 24-of-60 (40 percent) from the field.
Ouachita (2-1) began the game on an 11-4 run after a fastbreak layup by Parker off an assist by Adams, who was 4-of-14 from the field, with 14:30 remaining in the opening half.
The Lady Tigers continued to use an aggressive defensive, forcing several turnovers as Ouachita took a 26-11 lead after a 3-pointer from Beverly from the left wing with 10:24 remaining as West Florida head coach Shannan Bergen was forced to call a timeout.
Parker’s 3-pointer with 7:41 left in the first half gave Ouachita a 29-15 advantage and a fastbreak layup by Gabby Coleman, who finished with nine points, pushed the margin to 34-16 with 3:09 remaining. The Lady Tigers, who shot 43.3 percent (13-of-30) from the floor, took their largest advantage of the first half with 1:41 left as Adams scored on a layup to give Ouachita a 36-16 lead.
However, the Argonauts, who were just 7-of-28 (25 percent) from the field in the first half, cut the deficit to 36-21 right before the half on five straight points by Amy Drake.
Parker gave the Lady Tigers, who had 12 fastbreak points, their biggest lead through the first five minutes of the second half after hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to give Ouachita a 48-26 advantage with 14:34 remaining, forcing West Florida to call its second timeout of the night.
A layup by Beverly gave Ouachita a 57-28 advantage with 10:41 left to put the game away as the Lady Tigers rolled to their second win of the season.
Victoria Hunt led West Florida (2-4) with 12 points and Drake added 11. The Argonauts were 16-of-55 from the floor for 29.1 percent.
Ouachita scored 29 points off 30 West Florida turnovers and finished with 26 points in the paint. The Lady Tiger bench also provided a spark by outscoring the Argonauts, 43-21.
The Lady Tigers continue play at the Second Annual Dr. Mary Jane Gilbert Classic 12 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 29 against Missouri-St. Louis at the Steelman Fieldhouse.
