Clift scores 30 as OC holds on to beat St. Thomas (Fla.) 75-71

Katy Clift scored a career-high 30 points and hit clutch free throws as OC beat St. Thomas (Fla.) on Tuesday in the Daytona Beach Shootout.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 20, 2011) – Katy Clift scored a career-high 30 points and went 6-of-6 from the free-throw line in the final 36 seconds as Oklahoma Christian held on for a 75-71 win over St. Thomas (Fla.) on Tuesday at the Ocean Center in the Daytona Beach Shootout.

OC (6-5) led all the way but St. Thomas (8-3) used a 20-4 run to cut an 18-point deficit with 5:25 left to two points. Constina Cousins scored to pull the Bobcats within 69-67 with 42 seconds left.

Clift – an 80.5 percent free-throw shooter – made two free throws with 36 seconds left, but Cousins scored again with 20 seconds left to made it 71-69. After two more free throws by Clift, Nickerline Montina scored to again bring St. Thomas within two points, but Clift again hit a pair from the line with :08 left to seal the win for the Lady Eagles.

Montina led St. Thomas – ranked No. 23 in NAIA Division II – with 30 points and four steals. Clift, who was named to the all-tournament team, broke her previous career scoring mark of 25 points, set Feb. 11 against Mid-America Christian and matched in this season’s opener against Texas Wesleyan. She made all 10 of her free throws and went 7-of-14 from the field, including 6-of-12 from 3-point range.

As a team, OC went 13-of-27 from behind the arc (48.1 percent), which was better than their overall shooting percentage of 40.7 percent (22 of 54). The strong 3-point shooting helped OC overcome its 25 turnovers.

“A win is a win,” OC assistant coach Larry Truesdell said. “Katy Clift stepped up and made some big plays at the end. Logan McKee hit some big shots and played really solid. We played pretty well but we still turned the ball over too much.”

Roz Hamilton and Tarynn Branscum opened the game with 3-pointers for the Lady Eagles. OC made its first three shots from behind the arc while sprinting to an 11-2 lead. A 3-pointer by McKee put the Lady Eagles ahead 28-10 with 8:35 left in the first half.

A 14-4 run by St. Thomas helped the Bobcats close the gap to 36-24 by halftime. The Bobcats pulled within 49-42 on a three-point play by Nickerline with 10:42 left, but Clift started a 16-5 run by the Lady Eagles with a 3-pointer. McKee had two treys two minutes apart as OC’s lead grew to 65-47 with 5:25 left.

That was OC’s last field goal, with Clift scoring the Lady Eagles’ final 10 points from the line.

McKee and Covalt each scored 11 points for OC, while Hamilton finished with eight points and nine rebounds before leaving the game with an injury. Maddie Cummings scored 16 for the Bobcats, who went just 3-of-14 from 3-point range (21.4 percent) and 24-of-62 from the field (38.7 percent). OC outrebounded St. Thomas 42-35.

The Lady Eagles will be off until Dec. 31, when they resume Sooner Athletic Conference play by hosting NAIA Division I No. 1 Oklahoma City University.

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