The College of the Ozarks Lady Bobcats used a pair of double-doubles from Annie Noah and Kayley Frank to defeat Baptist Bible College at Keeter Gymnasium on Saturday.  The Lady Cats trailed 20-17 after the first period but came back with a strong second frame to lead 40-34 at the half. A strong third quarter saw the lead grow to 58-46, but a BBC rally cut the gap to 71-63 at the final buzzer.

BBC jumped out to an early lead with a Josie Sullivan three on the first possession of the game. Michelle Gabani put the Lady Cats on the board at the 8:41 mark but BBC continued to apply pressure hitting threes for their first nine points. The Patriots continued to hold a slim lead through the opening frame and led 20-12 with 1:23 remaining. Kayley Frank drained a three followed by a Katie Mayes two and the deficit was cut to 20-17 at the first break.

Blythe Benefield opened the scoring in the second quarter to cut the gap to one, 20-19 but a BBC basket by Gabby Adams provided the answer to the 7-0 run. The Lady Cats took their first lead of the game on a pair of Annie Noah buckets to make the score 23-22 with 8:18 left in the half. Neither team would score over the next 2:06 as the defense for both teams took center stage.  Stevi Jones broke through at the 6:12 mark with a pair of free throws and the Lady Cat lead was up to 25-22. Jones and Jordan Wersinger connected on six straight free throws to increase the lead to 29-24 before another Josie Sullivan three cut the gap to two. The Patriots continued to challenge but the Lady Cats always responded. Kayley Frank and Jordan Wersinger scored the final two Lady Cat baskets to end the quarter and the lead was 40-34 heading to the intermission.

Kayley Frank opened the scoring in the second half with a free throw to start a 7-1 Lady Cat run. A Gabby Adams three squelched the momentum but the Lady Cats were determined to keep rolling. Another 7-2 run was capped off by a Michelle Gabani basket and the Lady Cat lead was 56-43 with 3:49 remaining in the third. Another dry spell ensued for both teams and one more basket each would be the sum of the offense.

Leading 58-46 to start the final quarter, the Lady Cats knew the Patriots were not going away. Four quick Patriot points confirmed the notion but a Kyra Hardesty three provided the early response. The teams traded baskets through the final 10 minutes with the Lady Cats holding the double-digit lead. Annie Noah capped the Lady Cat scoring with a free throw at the 1:16 mark. BBC added a pair of unanswered baskets to cut the gap to 71-63 but they were unable to get any closer as time ran down.

The win was the Lady Cats’ sixth straight and 11th in their last 12 outings. Kayley Frank poured in a game high 23 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to go with seven steals in the win. Annie Noah added a double-double of her own with 13 points and 12 rebounds and Jordan Wersinger posted double figure scoring with 14 points. Stevi Jones added six points, Blythe Benefield, Michelle Gabani, and Katie Mayes each tacked on four, and Kyra Hardesty chipped in three.

The Lady Cats are back in action Tuesday as they host Bacone College in a 5:30 start.  The Lady Cats will have their final regular season home game Saturday, February 19th when they host Iowa Wesleyan at 1:0, followed by the Bobcats and Ecclesia College at 3:00. Saturday will also be senior day for the Lady Cats and the Bobcat cheer team.