General Jim Powers - SAC Sports Information Director

John Brown Earns Their Program First SAC Women's Basketball Tournament Crown

The Top Seeded Golden Eagles Defeat No. 2 Langston 53-42

Fort Worth, Texas – For the first time in program history, the John Brown University Women’s Basketball team earned the 2024 Sooner Athletic Conference Basketball Championship after defeating Langston 53-42 on Tuesday evening at the Sid Richardson Center in Fort Worth, Texas. The victory for the Golden Eagles was their 26th consecutive win as they improved to 28-3 on the season while Langston finished with a 24-7 overall record.
 
The first quarter has an evenly played 10 minutes as the No. 13 ranked Golden Eagles grabbed a 7-6 advantage after holding a 9-7 rebounding edge to counteract an early Langston 5-2 lead. John Brown got their offense going in the second stanza as they shot 6-of-13 from the field. The Lions were able to maintain their lead in the early stages of the quarter as Makayla Transou hit a layup and Hailey Jordan nailed a pair of free throws to give Langston an 11-10 advantage with 7:41 remaining in the quarter. The Golden Eagles used a 12-2 run to take control of the quarter as Tarrah Stephens converted a three-point play at the 1:11 mark of the stanza to give John Brown a 22-13 lead. Each team scored a field goal in the latter stages as the Golden Eagles carried a 25-15 advantage in the halftime locker room.
 
Both teams played the second half on even terms as both teams scored 13 points in the third quarter with John Brown holding a 38-28 lead as the teams headed to the final stanza. The Golden Eagles extended the lead as Emily Sanders in a layup and Graci Harris knocked down two free throws to push the advantage to 44-30 with 4:47 remaining in regulation. The Lions were able to cut the deficit to nine points as Kamesha Moore rained in a triple with 30 seconds left to make the score 51-42 but Natalie Smith scored the final two points of the game with two free throws to give John Brown a 53-42 lead and the conference title.
 
Tournament Most Outstanding Player Tarrah Stephens paced the Golden Eagles with a game-high 26 points and 11 rebounds while Graci Harris added six points with Emily Sanders grabbing six boards. Jordan led the way for the Lions with 10 points with Moore chipping in with nine points and seven rebounds.
 
Here is the 2024 SAC Women’s Basketball All-Tournament Team:
 
Shy Christopher, Mid-America Christian
Megan Nestor, Wayland Baptist
Hailey Jordan, Langston
Kameron Shelley, Langston
Natalie Smith, John Brown
Tournament Most Outstanding Player – Tarrah Stephens, John Brown
 
Up Next:
 
Both John Brown and Langston have earned automatic bids into the 2024 NAIA National Women’s Basketball Championship. The selection show for the tournament will take place Thursday, March 7, at 7 p.m. CT via the NAIA YouTube page. The Golden Eagles have been awarded the opportunity to host the first and second rounds of the tournament which will take place March 15-16.