Dori Rapinchuk (College of the Ozarks Sports Information) POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. — On Saturday evening, both the men’s and women’s basketball teams recorded wins as College of the Ozarks faced Haskell Indian Nations University.
The Lady Bobcats had a lot to celebrate as it was Senior Night, recognizing this year’s two seniors, Maggie McMenamy and Hannah Wisdom. The Cats took the lead early and never let up, defeating the Haskell Indians, 75-49. The team and crowd also had cause to celebrate as Lady Bobcat head coach Becky Vest posted her 100th career win with Saturday’s victory.
Scoring for the Lady Bobcats was led by Hannah Wisdom with 19 points, alongside 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal. Kelsie Cleeton collected another double-double, scoring 13 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. Senior Maggie McMenamy also contributed 12 points, 5 rebounds, one steal and an assist. Cass Johnson joined the group in double figures with 10. The Lady Bobcats won the battle of the boards, outrebounding Haskell 51-33.
The C of O Bobcats also posted an early lead over Haskell and never looked back, outscoring the Indians by as many as 27 points midway into the second half. They secured the win with a final score of 69-52.
While Cameron Paschke once more led the team in scoring with 16 points, Kiefer Starbird made news by recording a career-high 21 rebounds alongside 10 points on the way to his seventh double-double of the season. Canyon Smith and Ryan Burland each added 10 points, while Ethan Davidson, DeMon Hyler, and Ryan Burland each contributed 5 rebounds. Although the Cats shot only 31.3% from the field, Haskell didn’t shoot much better, hitting just 32.8% of their field goals. Key differences featured three-point shooting and defense, as College of the Ozarks hit 6-of-23 treys versus Haskell’s 3-for-18 and outrebounded the Indians 52-41. In addition, the Cats shot 79.3% from the charity strip, draining 23-of-29, while Haskell went 7-for-11.
The #10 NAIA DII Lady Cats are now 21-4 this season and 6-0 in the conference. The Bobcats’ overall record is 17-7, and they are 8-0 in the conference.
The Lady Cats will play their last regular season home game against Central Christian on Wednesday, February 8, at 6 PM in the Keeter Gymnasium. The Bobcats will face Central Christian on Saturday in the Cats’ last home game of the regular season, with game time beginning at 5 PM.
