The Lady Bears traveled to Arlington, Texas this past weekend to take on the #1 team in the nation in Arlington Baptist College on Friday evening and then Dallas Christian College (Dallas, TX) on Saturday morning. Both games were NCCAA Southwest Region games.

Arlington Baptist returned several players from their national runner-up team from last season and proved to be more than a handful for the Bears on their home court. With starting point guard Junior RaeLyn Epp (Corn, OK) in early foul trouble, the Patriots ratcheted up the pressure. Their relentless defense coupled with shooting 53% behind the 3 point line in the first half led to a huge lead that was too much for the Bears to overcome as the Patriots cruised to the win.

In a quick turn around Saturday morning, the Lady Bears played Dallas Christian in a rematch of their November 11th game in Haviland, KS. The Crusaders won that game by 10 points and the Lady Bears were ready to try and make amends. After being down by 4 points at halftime, the Bears went through a dry spell early in the second half and saw the lead balloon up to 16 points. Although they kept fighting and cut into the lead, they ended up losing 50-60.

Head Coach Ryan Kendall concluded, “We’ve struggled putting the ball in the basket these past 3 or 4 games. We’re getting the shots we want, they just aren’t falling. It’s frustrating for the team but they keep fighting. I’m sure it will turn itself around.”

Epp led the Bears with 20 point, 11 rebounds, and 7 steals against Dallas. Junior Shandy Edenborough (Goodwell, OK) put in 11 points with 9 rebounds, and Senior Morgan Stander (Omaha, NE) provided a spark with 11 points on the night.

The Lady Bears head into Christmas break now. They won’t be in action again until January 9th, 2015 when they face Ecclesia College (Springdale, AR).