Your Lady Tiger Drop the Ball to #7 OCC Ambassadors Tuesday Night in Joplin, MO. 

In the first test of competition for second semester, the Lady Tigers couldn’t maintain their early success against OCC as they fell apart late in the 4th quarter. After a quick start the Champion Tigers took an early 17-4 lead. The Ambassadors were able to claw their way back into the game behind some big plays from Rebecca Farmer who had 13 points in the 1st quarter. Ozark's Darian Carr came in hot the 1st quarter, shooting 3-for-6 from the 3 point line and 3-for-6 from the field. After a fast paced back and forth affair, the Lady Tigers maintained the lead against OCC going into the half, 36-31. Defensively, the Lady Tigers were able to hold OCC to 28% shooting from the field and 23% shooting from the three in the first half.

To start the second half, it was a battle. Ozark's Kamryn Gentry added 10 points the 3rd quarter. Champion held OCC to only 16 points that quarter, but struggled only scoring 15 points. Entering the 4th quarter, Champion held the lead until about the last 4 minutes of the game. In the 4th quarter, the Ambassadors went on a run. OCC would go on an absolute tear, shooting 7-for-12 from the field, 4-for-8 from the three and went 100% from the FT lineup outscoring the Tigers 40-32 in the second half. The Tigers fell 71-68.

Some notable performances from the game:

Nay Manning -11 points, 3 steals, 3 assists, 3 made 3's

Rebecca Farmer - 13 points, 8 rebounds

Destiny Gonzalez - 11 points, 7 rebounds

Sckiya Banister - 10 points, 3 assists, 2 steals

The Tigers had a great chance to bounce back as they were scheduled to play the next day against College of the Ozarks- Eagles, a NCCAA D1 team from Branson, MO. The Eagles would be a tough task, as they are NCCAA D1.

The first half of the game, COFO came out hot. They were shooting 50% from the field in the 1st quarter and 44% from the field in the 2nd quarter. The Eagles were also 9-for-11 from the FT line. The Lady Tigers started off struggling in the 1st quarter and could not seem to get the ball to go in the basket, and were plagued by turnovers early. Eventually, Champion was able to start to find their groove in the second quarter. Going into the half, the Lady Tigers were down 41-31.

The second half, the Eagles went back on a run. The Eagles lead by 24 points in the 3rd, 7 minutes in. Kayley Frank and Jordan Wersinger were carrying the Eagles by hitting some tough mid-range shots. Champion got it going at the 2 minute mark of the 3rd quarter with Destiny Gonzalez finishing strong through contact in the paint. The tigers kept the same energy and went into the 4th quarter with high intensity- picking it up on both ends of the court. The Tiger outscored the Eagles in the 4th 26-17, but it wasn't enough to close the gap and win. Frank finished with 21 points and Wersinger finished with 25 points

Champion finished the game shooting 42% from the field, 33% from 3, and 80% from the charity stripe.

Some notable performances from the game:

Destiny Gonzalez 19 points, 2 steals, 5 rebounds; 4-of-5 from the FT line

Rebecca Farmer 11 points, 6 rebounds

Imani Honey 11 points, 3-for-3 from the FT line

Jurnee HIcks 9 points