Lady Bison Top No. 20 Columbia

Article Date

November 21, 2005

In a minor upset on Bison Hill Monday, Oklahoma Baptist University's 25th-ranked Lady Bison held off 20th-ranked Columbia College 78-66.

OBU never trailed in the game and led by as many as 21 points in the second half before the Cougars rallied to within six in the last minute.

With score tied at 13-13, the Lady Bison went on a 23-4 surge with Dilenny Castillo and Rachel Heins scoring eight apiece after getting CC into foul trouble. The run gave OBU a 36-17 lead at the 3:13 mark of the first half.

The Lady Bison carried a 39-23 advantage into the lockers at halftime.

Castillo and Lena Brenning scored back-to-back to give OBU a 53-32 lead with 13:34 to play, the Columbia then began its comeback attempt.

LeAnn Fossum scored seven of her team-high 22 points in an 11-0 Columbia run to trim the OBU lead to 55-46. Laura Elliott hit a three-pointer and Valerie Suarez scored to make it 57-51 with 8:07 left in the game.

The Lady Bison, who shot 54 percent from the field in the first half, hit under 30 percent for the second half.

Five OBU free throws and a basket by Brenning accounted for a 7-0 run to put the Lady Bison ahead 64-51 with 5:23 to play.

Amanda Koetting answered for Columbia with two three-pointers in a two-minute span to help narrow the gap to 72-66 with 25 seconds left in the game.

OBU hit all eight of its free throw attempts from there and didn't allow the Cougars to get any closer.

Castillo led OBU with 23 points, while Brenning had 15 points and a career-best 11 rebounds. Keely Tolin added 12 points and Heins 10. Tolin, Tabetha Eaton and Brenning were a combined 17-for-17 at the free throw line with Eaton scoring seven, Tolin six and Brenning four at the stripe.

OBU, now 4-0, will host the Chili's Classic Friday and Saturday. At 6 p.m. Friday, Oklahoma Christian will play Lindenwood, followed by OBU and Texas Wesleyan at 8 p.m. The lone game on Saturday has OBU taking on Lindenwood at 6 p.m.