Angelo State University held off a comeback bid by Arkansas Tech University to slip past the Golden Suns 92-90 in non-conference women’s basketball at Tucker Coliseum in Russellville on Sunday afternoon.
The Belles (2-1), who were 26-6 overall and reached the regional finals of the NCAA Division II Tournament last season, built a 37-20 lead over Arkansas Tech (2-1) early in the second quarter.
Led by Jalei Oglesby, the Golden Suns rallied to pull even at 69-69 with 8:14 left in the fourth quarter.
Six straight points by Angelo State’s Catara Samuel put the Belles in front for good. Angelo State pulled away for an 87-75 advantage with less than three minutes to play. Arkansas Tech fought back to within 89-88 on Jayana Sanders’ basket with 43 seconds remaining.
Samuel answered for Angelo State by making a layup with 15 seconds left, and rather than allowing the Golden Suns a chance at a tying 3-pointer, the Belles fouled Hannah Villines.
Villines connected on both free throws to make it 91-90 with 2.4 seconds left. Angelo State’s De’Anira Moore made 1-of-2 free throws with 1.9 seconds left, and the Belles intercepted ATU’s desperation heave into the front court to seal their two-point victory.
“We had all kinds of trouble guarding them,” said Golden Suns head coach Dave Wilbers. “When you give up 92 points at home, you’re going to get beat. Nothing we tried to run defensively worked today.”
ATU’s Oglesby, a freshman from Howe, Okla., and the third-leading scorer in the history of 5-on-5 high school girls’ basketball in Oklahoma, finished with 34 points and was 15-of-21 from the field on Sunday. She also grabbed eight rebounds and made five assists.
“(Oglesby) plays hard,” said Wilbers. “She looks for her shot and gets in there and offensive rebounds. She can make shots. We just need to have some other players step up with her.”
Sanders finished with 18 points and Villines had 14 points for ATU.
The loss snapped a streak of 14 consecutive non-conference home wins for the Golden Suns. Arkansas Tech is now 64-4 in home non-conference contests since Wilbers became its head women’s basketball coach in 2007.
Sunday was the 500th Golden Suns’ game at Tucker Coliseum. Arkansas Tech’s women are 448-52 all-time under the dome, a winning percentage of .896.
The Golden Suns will begin 2019-20 Great American Conference play on Thursday, Nov. 21, by hosting Ouachita Baptist University at Tucker Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.
Tickets ($5 adults/$3 students and senior citizens) will be available at the door. Those with a valid ATU identification card will be admitted free of charge.
Radio station KCJC 102.3 FM and www.arkansastechsports.com will provide live coverage.
