Cornwell, Hillcats Soar Past Golden Eagles, 66-55

The Rogers State women's basketball team completed its second sweep of a Sooner Athletic Conference opponent in three days with a 66-55 win over John Brown on Monday night at the Claremore Expo.

Senior Sierra Cornwell led the charge on offense and defense with a game-high and season-high 18 points while tying her own single-game steals record with nine nabs.

Cornwell opened the game with back-to-back steals that led to a 4-0 start for the Cats. JBU answered with a pair of buckets to knot the game and the teams battled for the lead until Cornwell took over again with eight minutes remaining in the half. The Twin Hills, Okla. native tallied six straight points while swiping two steals to give RSU a seven point advantage. The Hillcats hung onto the cushion and took a 31-25 lead into the locker room at intermission.

The Hillcats pushed their lead to 10 points with consecutive buckets by Cornwell to start the second stanza. RSU held the advantage for the entire second half. The Golden Eagles cut the deficit to four points with six minutes to play. However, RSU used a 6-0 run capped off with a layup by Ariani Silva to regain the double digit lead and cruised through the final five minutes of the game.

JBU committed 23 turnovers in the game while the Cats tallied 16 steals. The Golden Eagles edged RSU on the boards 32-29.

Three Hillcats joined Cornwell in double digits scoring. Logan Froese tallied 14 points, Leah Smith poured in 13 points and Silva chipped in 11 points. RSU shot 45 percent from the field while struggling from the charity stripe, converting just 58 percent.

Rogers State (18-6, 8-2) returns to action on Thursday night as the Hillcats travel to Oklahoma City to take on Mid-America Christian at 6 p.m.