source: wbuathletics.com

Behind another strong offensive showing and one of their stingiest defensive efforts of the season, the Wayland Baptist Flying Queens secured the second outright Sooner Athletic Conference title in program history, ending the regular-season with a 107-45 victory over North Texas-Dallas on Saturday afternoon at Hutcherson Center.

“It was a great way to finish a tough conference season. To come home and put up 100 points two games in a row (WBU defeated SAGU on Thursday, 104-69) is a good sign of where we are as a team,” Wayland coach Jason Cooper said.

It’s the fourth overall conference title for the 10th-ranked Flying Queens (28-3, 20-2 SAC), including the third straight. While the last two years Wayland shared the title – first with Oklahoma City University and last season with Mid-America Christian – this one belongs solely to the Flying Queens. With their first outright title coming in 2016, this is just the second solo conference championship in program history.

North Texas-Dallas (12-17, 6-16) offered little resistance, despite the fact the Trailblazers played Wayland to with 14 points, 91-77, when the teams met in Dallas on Jan. 13.

This time, the Flying Queens jumped out to a 12-2 lead, and they never looked back. Wayland outscored the Trailblazers in the second period, 27-9, in the third, 25-15, and in the fourth, 33-10.

WBU’s two seniors, Kaylee Edgemon and Angel Hayden, were honored before tip-off then went on to shine during the game. Edgemon put up 28 points while Hayden recorded 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

“I thought Kaylee and Angel had great showings for their senior day game,” Cooper said. “Angel was once again close to a double-double and not far off a triple-double. Kaylee had an outstanding game, going 14-of-16 from the floor. That is very impressive.” Hayden, meanwhile, was 7-of-7 from the field.

Jenna Cooper matched Hayden’s 17 points while Canton Moreno came off the bench for a near season-best 15. Kaitlyn Edgemon tacked on 14 points, hitting 7-of-8 from the free-throw line where Wayland went 22-of-27 (82 percent).

Ashlyn Shelley turned in one of her best outings of the season with eight rebounds and eight assists to go with six points. “Ashlyn broke out today. I was impressed by her all-around performance. She is one of our unsung heroes and does so much that doesn’t show up on the stat sheets. It was good to see her play well today.”

WBU turned the ball over just eight times – 10 fewer than UNTD – and held a 47-32 rebounding edge. The Trailblazers, who hit just 3-of-20 3-pointers (15 percent), were led by 10 points each from Delyssa Miller and Tamia Miller.

The 107 points were second for the season only to the 110 against Central Christian (Kan.) on the road Dec. 4.

“Sealing the deal for ourselves today was big, but we know we still have work to do and can still improve our positioning,” Coach Cooper said.

Next for the Flying Queens, who earned a first-round bye in the SAC Tournament, is a quarterfinal matchup at home next Thursday. That will be the first game of a doubleheader with the Pioneers. Pairings will be announced later this weekend.

“We’re looking forward to a conference tournament battle that will definitely test our mettle,” Coach Cooper said. “There are some very good teams who are vying for national tournament position.”

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