Box Score OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 17, 2018) – As she is most games, Oklahoma Christian's Addy Clift was the focus of the opposing defense on Saturday afternoon, when the Lady Eagles hosted No. 2-ranked Lubbock Christian (Texas).

But even an elite basketball team can struggle against the OC sharpshooter when Clift starts rolling. The junior guard from Kiowa scored 27 of her 35 points after halftime, forcing Lubbock Christian – which had a 20-point lead early in the second half – to hang on at the end for 73-66 win over OC in the Eagles' Nest.

The margin of victory for LCU (24-1, 13-0 Heartland Conference) matched its second-lowest against a league foe this season and Clift's 35 points were the second-most by a Heartland player this season, topped only by her 42-point outburst against another NCAA Division II power, Emporia State (Kan.) , on Nov. 29.

Despite the loss, coach Stephanie Findley was encouraged by the way OC (8-16, 4-8) continually fought back in the second half and never let the Chaparrals become comfortable.

"We closed the gap on them a little bit in the fourth quarter. We finally started hitting shots," Findley said. "The girls, that's one thing about them all year long – they haven't quit. They keep playing hard and they always think they can make a comeback. We've been doing that a lot … and we're learning as we go. Hopefully that will make us better down the road."

A disastrous first quarter left OC in a 17-7 hole and Lubbock Christian led 44-24 before a late bucket by Clift pulled the Lady Eagles within 18 at halftime.

That was just a taste of what was to come for Clift. Two of her four 3-pointers came during an 11-2 run that pulled OC within 46-34 with 6:24 left in the third quarter. Lubbock Christian again stretched its lead to 60-41 early in the fourth quarter before what had to be – considering the level of opponent – one of the greatest scoring stretches for an OC player in recent memory.

Clift torched the Chaparrals for 17 points in the fourth quarter, scoring from all sorts of angles, on long-distance, medium-range and close-in shots. A three-point play with 4:41 left got OC within 62-49 and a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left made it 71-61. She kept scoring all the way until the 11-second mark, when her final basket made it 73-66.

"She was determined after halftime," Findley said. "She came out and had that look in her eye and she was talking to the kids in the huddle. I appreciate seeing that leadership out of her today, that she wasn't going to quit and she was going to get herself going and that's what she did. She knocked down a couple of shots and then it just snowballed from there for her. She just took the bull by the horns and went with it."

If the game had gone on for just a few more minutes, who knows?

"We were losing bodies as people were fouling out, so I don't know how much longer we could have gone," Findley said. "But I did like the way we closed the game. We were forcing some turnovers and we were hitting shots and we were even getting to the foul line a little bit, but we missed a few of those free throws. I just like the makeup of this team in that they play hard and they're not going to quit. We were just outsized, in both weight and height today."

LCU's probable Heartland player of the year, 6-foot-5 senior center Tess Bruffey, led the Chaparrals with 17 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots (but went 4 of 13 from the field), while Olivia Robertson scored a career-high 22 pointson 7-of-11 shooting. Maddi Chitsey added 15 points and seven rebounds for LCU, which shot 40.7 percent from the field – lower than OC's 42.1-percent shooting.

OC's only other player to score in double figures was Katie Mayo, who had 12 points. Playing in her final home game, senior Audrey Hayes had eight points for the Lady Eagles.

The Lady Eagles are in a three-way tie for fifth place in the Heartland with St. Edward's (Texas) and Rogers State entering the season's final week. OC will visit second-place Arkansas-Fort Smith on Thursday before closing the regular season at Rogers State next Saturday.

Stephanie Findley discusses the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kZL-HIoJrs&feature=youtu.be

Highlights, courtesy of Eagle Media: https://youtu.be/AieYaB4Iez0