Women’s Basketball Claims SAC Win over Central Christian

Goodwell, Okla.—In a Pink Out performance Saturday afternoon at Anchor D Arena, the Panhandle State women’s basketball team marked their fifth conference victory with an 80-55 win over Central Christian. The men’s team took a disappointing defeat, falling 103-77 to the Tigers.

Both Aggie teams were coming off hard-fought battles against two top-ranked Oklahoma City teams on Thursday that saw the women taken 87-66 by the No. 4 Stars; the Aggie men put in a physical effort in their 101-90 loss to a No. 15 OKC team.

On Saturday, the women came out energized in bright pink uniforms and played with purpose, boasting a 35-26 lead at halftime. The team hosted a special Pink Out silent auction of previous years’ pink jerseys to help raise both cancer awareness and funds for a fellow Panhandle State family member. Four year-old Monson Wilkins (son of Leisel and Dr. Dee Wilkins, Director of Vocal Music at OPSU) was recently diagnosed with leukemia and is undergoing treatment in Oklahoma City. Funds raised from the silent auction and special #MONSONSTRONG wristbands and Pink Out t-shirts, that were also sold that day, will be donated directly to the Wilkins family for medical and travel expenses. The Aggies would like to offer their appreciation for the tremendous support brought by our campus community, fans and guests for this fundraiser; and also wish to thank Panhandle State artists Brent Shoulders and Nels Peterson for their generous donations of auction items.

With Monson joining them on the bench as honorary team captain, the Aggie women held extra incentive for success, dominating the second half 45-29 over the Tigers. Both Madison Dearmin and Addison Munsch notched double-doubles with ten rebounds apiece; Dearmin led the game in scoring with 19 points, followed by Munsch who scored 17. Junior Monti Regier added 15 points for Panhandle, all on three-point shots, and senior Tierra Roberson totaled ten points off the bench. The Aggies won the battle at the boards 46-34 and scored 25 points off turnovers in the game.
The Aggie women own a 13-10 season record and sit 5-10 in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings, with five games left on the regular-season schedule. With back-to-back losses this week, the men’s team no stands 11-12 on the season with four SAC wins in the books.

Junior Jace Kerr made his first appearance in Saturday’s game, after having sit out the past five games due to a rib injury. Kerr was a welcome addition scoring a game-high of 37 points against the Tigers. Teammate Jaedon Whitfield was also back on court for the Aggies and back to his double-double days marking a team-high of ten rebounds and adding 14 points for Panhandle. Whitfield currently leads the SAC in rebounds and double-doubles, and sits second in the national ranks for rebounds per game averaging 12.3 for the season. Senior shooter Tyler Pate offered up ten points and three assists in Saturday’s matchup and Tucker Powell led off the bench with seven points, followed by Thomas Ellis who scored five bench points and took down five boards.

The Aggies are back in action at Anchor D Arena Monday evening with back-to-back showings against nationally ranked Wayland Baptist teams. The women’s team tips off at 6 p.m. against the No. 6-ranked Flying Queens, and the men will face a No. 20-ranked Pioneers team at 8 p.m.