LANGSTON, Okla. – After a delayed restart of almost 24 hours, No. 13 seed Blue Mountain Christian and No. 4 seed Langston University squared off in the NAIA National Championship First Round here Saturday.
In a matchup that was one of Blue Mountain's best, the Lady Toppers would take the No. 17 team in the nation to overtime, coming up short 61-59.
Due to high sustained winds causing wildfire spreads in Oklahoma Friday evening, tip was delayed for an hour to give Langston firefighters time to battle the fires.
On Friday, the first quarter saw the Lady Toppers shake off the nerves, as they couldn't find their groove shooting until Charnita Brooks and Crystin Guy hit triples.
McKenzie Williams would provide four free-throws in the opening quarter, as BMCU trailed the Lions 15-11 after one.
Immediately after the first quarter, play was once again delayed due to high winds and spreading wildfires.
On Saturday, the Topper defense opened the second quarter by forcing a couple early turnovers, and a pair of buckets from Brooks and Williams.
Coming out of the media timeout, Blue Mountain would take the lead at 4:36 with a three from Brooks to make it 19-18.
Brooks would have to go to the bench with three fouls for the Toppers, but BMCU had tied the game at 24-24 at the break, forcing 11 Langston turnovers.  Brooks led with nine points, Williams had nine and Guy had seven.
Langston would come out and run a higher tempo, but the Toppers would match them on the boards.  Brooks would hit a big three at the five-minute mark, as the game was tied again at 34-34.
Maddie Kirk would hit four free-throws in the third, and the game was again tied, 42-42 after the quarter.
Early in the fourth, Brooks gave Blue Mountain the lead with a three from the top of the key.  Guy would also get an and-one around the seven-minute mark to give BMCU a 50-47 lead.
The Lions would go on a 6-0 run through three minutes, but Blue Mountain withstood it, and the game was tied 53-53 with 2:29 left, and it would stay that way and head to OT.
Overtime was back-and-forth with Isabella Carlson getting a big bucket in the paint, but late in the extended period the Lions got a layup from Diamond Richardson and a pair of free-throw from Koreea Kirksey to seal it.
"I am so proud of this team and all they've accomplished this season," BMCU head coach Tracy Rice said.  "They played like a team on a mission this year, and we came up just a little short.  It's been a remarkable year, and I couldn't have asked more of them."
Williams had an unbelievable game, turning in a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds, while Brooks finished with 17 and Guy had 15.  Kirk would finish with eight points and seven boards for the Toppers.
Blue Mountain would go on to force 19 turnovers against the high-powered Lions.
BMCU closes out its season with an overall record of 19-12.
 
 
 
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