SAN ANGELO, Texas – The Angelo State Belle basketball team fought hard against a scrappy Oklahoma Christian team, but ultimately fell short against OCUs defense, losing 56-47 at Stephens Arena in the Junell Center.
 
ASU would quickly jump to a -0 lead over the Eagles with a three pointer from Sawyer Lloyd and a layup from Madeline Stephens, but three layups back to back brought OCU to a 6-5 lead over the Belles. Stephens would answer back with two layups of her own to take the lead back over the Eagles, and a three pointer from Samantha Rocha extended the Belles lead to three, 12-9. A layup from Stephens would end the first quarter for the Belles, keeping their lead over the Eagles at three points, 14-11.
 
Oklahoma Christian came back at the start of the second quarter with a vengeance, keeping the Belles from scoring for almost six minutes, taking the lead back the Belles and extending to four points in the process, 18-14. A three pointer from Lana Marov would cut the Eagles lead down to a point with less than five minutes left in the half, 18-17.
 
OCU would hit two three pointers back to back, bringing their lead back to six points, until a foul drawn by Rocha and a made free throw brought the Eagles lead down to five, 23-18. A three pointer from OCU would bring their lead to eight over the Belles, ending the half with the Belles trailing the Eagles, 26-18.
 
The Blue and Gold would come back to the court with their second wind, cutting into the deficit to bring Angelo State within four points with a layup and jump shot from Marov and a fastbreak layup from Lloyd off of a steal, 28-24. A three pointer from Marov and a layup from Stephens kept the Belles within three of the Eagles lead, 32-29.
 
Two free throws from the Eagles brought them to a five point lead, but a made three pointer from Lloyd cut it down to two points, 34-32. OCU would keep the Belles from scoring for the rest of the third, scoring six unanswered points to lead 40-32 over Angelo State.
 
OCU kept their defense up and kept the Blue and Gold from scoring for three minutes, scoring eight more points to extend their lead to 16 over ASU. Madisen Honea would sink a three pointer, cutting the Eagles lead down to 13, 48-35. A layup from Rocha and two free throws from Stephens continued to cut into the deficit to bring the Belles within nine of the Eagles lead, 48-39.
 
Two sunk threes from Honea and Stephens, plus a layup from Stephens, cut the lead even further down to bring the Belles within four points, 51-47. However, five made free throws from the Eagles brought their lead back to nine, ending the game in favor of Oklahoma Christian, 56-47.
 
Stephens led the Belles on offense and defense, scoring 17 points for Angelo State, shooting 7-14 from the field, 1-3 from the three point line, and 2-4 from the free throw line. Stephens grabbed 14 rebounds against Oklahoma Christian, four on offense and 10 on defense, grabbing an assist and three blocks on the night.
 
Marov finished the night with 10 points for the Belles, shooting 4-10 from the field and 2-6 from the three point line. Marov registered six rebounds, one offensive and five defensive, grabbing two assists as well.
 
The Belles hit the road for a two game series against the St. Mary's Rattlers in San Antonio on Friday, January 22 for game one 5 p.m., and Saturday, January 23 at 3 p.m.