Bolivar, Mo. – The Southwest Baptist University Bearcats opened up conference play against the University of Central Oklahoma. Despite fighting hard, the Bearcats fell 73-61. The loss drops the Bearcats record to 6-2 (0-1 MIAA) on the season.
The Bearcats were the first to strike with a pass from Aliyah Isaac to Caylee Richardson scoring on a jumper taking an early 2-0 lead. The game was scoreless until Richardson went up for another jumper before the Bronchos scored twice to tie the game 4-4 with 6:01 left in the first quarter. The Bearcats quickly turned the ball around and Isaac hit a 3 pointer to take back the lead. UCO kept the game tight quickly scoring to pull ahead but a jumper from Isaac gave the Bearcats back the lead 9-8 with 4:18 on the clock. Falling behind again, free throws from Megan Rosenbohm fell to take a slim 1 point lead (11-10) with 3:43 left. The game stayed tight over the next couple minutes with the lead switching twice, but a solo 5-0 run by Mackenzie Skupa and free-throws from Isaac sealed the first quarter for the Bearcats as they headed into the second quarter leading 20-16.
The Bronchos fought back with a 9-0 run to start the second quarter which Alex Botkin cut off with a layup putting the score at 25-22 UCO only a couple minutes into the second quarter. After a jumper by Rosenbohm, UCO went on a 7-0 run before Rosenbohm scored again to cut them off at 4:32 bringing the score to 32-16 UCO. A layup by Morgan Henderson pulled the Bearcats within 4, but a 5-0 run by UCO had SBU trailing 37-28 heading into the half.
The Bronchos opened the 3rd quarter with free throws but SBU responded with Richardson’s layup from Botkin less than a minute into the 3rd quarter. The scoring went back and forth between both teams with UCO maintaining the lead. Free-throws from Rosenbohm pulled the Bearcats within single digits but a 12-0 run by the Bronchos put the Bearcats down 51-32 with 6:02 left in the quarter. Continuing to fight, Skupa laid it into the basket followed by a jumper from Rosenbohm at 4:28 with the score at 53-36 UCO. After Skupa went 2-2 from the free-throw line, UCO went on a 7-0 run cut off by Skupa’s layup from Isaac putting the score at 62-40 UCO. A shot from Isaac fell but the Bearcats still headed into the final quarter trailing 66-42.
Bailey Rezabek hit a 3-pointer followed by a jumper from Isaac bringing the score to 66-47 UCO early in the 4th quarter. SBU then started a 6-0 run with shots from Isaac and Richardson to put the score at 68-53 with 5:40 left on the clock. Another layup by Isaac followed by free-throws from Skupa at 4:32 put the score at 70-57. Skupa drew a foul and hit a free-throw followed later by a free-throw from Richardson to put the score at 70-59 UCO with under 2 minutes left in the game. Rosenbohm’s free-throws at the end of the quarter landed but it wasn’t enough as SBU would fall 73-61.
Aliyah Isaac led the way offensively with 15 points followed closely by Megan Rosenbohm and Mackenzie Skupa both with 14 points apiece. Caylee Richardson narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points and 9 rebounds which tied Alex Botkin for the team high who also had 9 rebounds. As a team SBU shot 39.5% from the field, 14.3% from behind the 3-point line, and 77.3% from the free-throw line.
SBU will continue conference play as they host Northeastern State University on Saturday, December 10th. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at the Meyers Sports Center in Bolivar, Missouri.
