Krista Pylant
Sports Editor
@KristaPylant8
Free throws and turnovers made the difference in the Cameron women’s basketball team’s 98-81 loss to Southwestern Oklahoma State (SWOSU) on Nov. 22 in the Aggie Gym.
The Bulldogs doubled the Aggies in free throws, sinking 24 of their own to stay a perfect 5-0 to start the season.
CU made four fewer field goals than SWOSU’s 34-for-62 effort; however, the Aggies were strong behind the arc, making nine treys in a loss that knocked them to 2-2 on the year.
CU’s 21 turnovers did not bode well for them either as SWOSU cashed in 27 points off the takeaways.
The Bulldogs relied on inside shooting as 66 percent of their points occurred in the paint.
Jamie Bonnarens led all scorers with 28 points and nearly notched a double-double with nine rebounds.
The sophomore from Cache, Okla. also recorded three assists and two steals.
Ava Battese scored 15 points and drained five three-pointers.
Lejha Smith closed out the double-digit scoring for the Aggies with 13 points paired with 11 boards for her second double-double of the season.
SWOSU’s duo of Hailey Tucker and Hayden Priddy combined for 53 of the Bulldog’s points.
Tucker tallied a team best 27 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and three steals. Priddy backed her up with 26 points of her own and six assists.
CU had trouble getting things going to start the game, not making their first basket until four minutes in the contest.
However, the Aggies caught up quickly to SWOSU’s seven points on back-to-back threes by Battese.
At the end of the first quarter, CU trailed by one possession until the Bulldogs opened the second period with a 7-1 run resulting in their largest lead of nine, 24-15.
Cameron had a short burst of their own, taking a 10-2 run under six minutes to capture their first lead of the game, 29-28 with 4:41 remaining.
Four missed CU buckets later, the Bulldogs re-took the lead and kept it until the halftime buzzer. They furthered their advantage to 40-34.
By halftime, Bonnarens had already notched 17 points and Priddy 14 points.
SWOSU opened the second half strong, advancing their edge to their largest lead of 11 points until the Aggies went of a third period surge.
A pair of threes from Amaka Nwakamma and Andrea Martinez started a 13 point chain Bonnarens finished herself on three straight scoring plays.
Bonnarens’ nine point rally put CU within one point of SWOSU twice.
Still, the Bulldogs went on to out-score CU 12-5, taking an eight point edge into the final period where they put the finishing touches on the Aggies.
SWOSU out-scored CU 32-23 in the final period, helping seal the deal with four made treys.
For her solid performance against the Aggies and Northeastern State, the Great American Conference named Tucker GAC Player of the Week.
This is the first time this season Tucker garnered the weekly GAC honor after earning the award four times as a sophomore and once as a freshman.
Tucker shot 51 percent from the field on the week on 20-of-39 overall from the floor, while also going 14-for-18 from the free-throw line (77 percent).