by LAWTON, Okla. – The Cameron women’s basketball team exploded for 102 points in a Senior Day win over UAFS on Saturday; seniors Ava Battese (Comanche/PBPN), Amaka Nwakamma, and McKenna Spikes combined for 39 points in their final regular season game in the Aggie Gym.
The Aggies could not miss in their second win over their division foes the Lady Lions. CU shot a program-record 66.1 percent from the field on Saturday, making 13-26 from three and 11-14 from the foul line. The Black and Gold’s 102-point outing was their first 100-plus point game since 2013. They also out-rebounded their opponent 35-21 as they cruised to their second straight win and eighth victory in their last nine outings.
Sophomore Maighan Hedge led the way, pouring in 26 points and 11 assists for her first career double-double. The Melbourne, Australia native also cross the 500-point plateau for the season, marking the first time a CU player has accomplished that feat since 1991 (Phoebe Dunn). Her now 522 points is seventh on the CU single season scoring list. Hedge is also the first Aggie to record a points/assists double-double since Luv Rattler in 2009.
On Senior Day, both Ava Battese and Amaka Nwakamma showed out for the home faithful. The Elgin, Okla. native Battese scored 22 points while going 6-11 from three-point range. She surpassed her previous single-season three-point mark of 89 and is now just four made triples away from the Cameron record of 96 held by Brandi Leal.
Nwakamma added 13 points on 6-9 shooting to go along with four rebounds, while Spikes had four points and two rebounds, going a perfect 2-2 from the floor in her final regular season home game.
Both teams were red-hot to start Saturday’s rematch. Cameron held a slight four-point lead at the end of the first quarter, and after both teams scored 25 in the second, that is where the advantage stood at halftime.
Cameron shot 67 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes of action, going 4-11 from three and 10-12 from the foul line. Hedge led the way with 14 points, eight of which came from the charity stripe. UAFS was also on the mark in the first half, shooting 59 percent from the field, but they were only 2-10 from long range.
The third quarter is where CU pulled away. The home squad scored 32 points on 68 percent shooting while knocking down six triples. Battese nailed three of those, scoring 11 of her 22 points in the third frame alone. Cameron led by 20 heading into the fourth after a last second layup by Hedge.
Despite scoring only 20 points in the final frame, CU still shot over 61 percent from the field. They were out-scored by six points in the quarter, but only because the Lady Lions went on a 9-0 run in the final three minutes of action. That aside, Cameron still won the contest 102-88.
The Lady Lions shot 53 percent from the field in the loss, going 6-21 from three and 12-17 from the charity stripes. They had four players in double-figures, led by Hannah Boyett with 24 points.
Cameron’s 13th win puts them at an even .500 on the season. More importantly, they move to 12-8 in league play, putting them in a three-way tie for fifth place with Eastern New Mexico and Angelo State in the Lone Star Conference standings.
