Lady Aggies rally to turn back UCO

BOXSCORE»

LAWTON, Okla. (Feb. 18) - Trailing by 14 points at halftime, the Cameron women's basketball team turned it on after intermission to keep its Lone Star Conference and South Central Region playoff hopes alive.

Joneatta Brown scored a game-high 20 points, including 14 in the second half, leading the Lady Aggies to a 70-60 win over Central Oklahoma Saturday afternoon at Aggie Gym. The win pushed Coach Dick Halterman's squad to 14-11 overall and 5-5 in LSC North Division play with just two regular season contests remaining. Cameron entered the weekend ranked No. 7 in the regional rankings and fifth in the LSC North standings.

After a loss to Northeastern State earlier in the week, Cameron's first-half performance on Saturday appeared to spell an abrupt ending to the Lady Aggies' season. Cameron shot just 24.2 percent from the field in the half, including a dismal 1-of-11 from three-point range.

Still, the Lady Aggies trailed by just six with under three minutes remaining in the opening period until a Tiffany Williams foul was joined by a Brown technical foul, giving the Bronchos four free throws to take a 31-21 lead with 2:55 left before the break. Mallory Markus capped a 9-0 UCO run with a three-pointer less than a minute later and the Bronchos entered the locker room at halftime with a 38-24 lead.

But the Lady Aggies opened the second half on a tear. Cameron scored the first seven points of the period and took the lead on Brittany Cooksey's three-pointer with 12:23 to play, capping a 21-4 run that gave the Lady Aggies the lead for good at 45-42.

Cameron extended its lead to as many as 15 late in the game, representing a 30-point swing from the team's 38-23 deficit with one minute left in the first half, before settling for the 10-point win.

Brown finished the game 9-of-13 from the field and hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds to post her ninth double-double of the season. It was also the 18th time in 25 games this season the Conroe, Texas, senior has reached double-figure scoring. Cooksey added 12 for the Lady Aggies, while Tiffany Williams chipped in 13 points and nine boards.

UCO got 14 points from Cassidy Pillow and 13 from Meghan Craig.

Cameron will play its final home game of the regular season on Monday, hosting LSC North-leading Southwestern Oklahoma in a game expected to tipoff at 6 p.m., at Aggie Gym. The Lady Aggies will close out the regular season on Wednesday at Texas A&M-Commerce. The Lone Star Conference postseason tournament will begin Tuesday, Feb. 28.