ENID —



Justice Payne can laugh at herself.

When the sophomore Northern Oklahoma College Enid sharpshooter was asked what part of her game she could most improve on, she chuckled a little.

“Start putting the ball in the hole from the three-point line would be nice,’’ she said with a smile.

Payne has done just well, thank you, from long distance. She leads the 13-2 and No. 11-ranked Lady Jets with 48 3-pointers.

The 3-point shooter, though, is a lot like the wildcatter in the oil field.

On some nights there’s gushers, such as a 22-point performance against Cowley College and a 20-point effort against Northeastern A&M.

Payne will take a 12.5 scoring average into tonight’s Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference game with Murray at 6 at the Mabee Center. The men will follow at about 8.

On other nights, there’s some dry holes.

“It’s kind of streaky,’’ she said. “All you can do is to keep shooting. If you’re a shooter, you have to have some confidence. I do get frustrated. That’s something I need to work on.’’

She still has the shooter’s mentality of not passing up a shot when it’s there.

“My shooting has not been the greatest, but I feel comfortable with it,’’ Payne said. “There’s always room for improvement. I’ve had a couple of successful nights.’’

On nights when she’s hitting the dry holes, Payne concentrates on other areas of her game. She has worked well with Ashlyn Briegge (17.1 ppg) and Marisha Wallace (13.9), the team’s top two scorers.

“Marisha has been playing very well finishing inside,’’ Payne said. “There’s more you can do on the court than just shoot. If things aren’t going your way, you have to make other things happen and do the other things right. It helps to have Marisha and Ashlyn there.’’

Payne started the season on the bench but quickly earned a starting role. She hasn’t noticed a difference in mentality in starting and being the sixth woman.

“Basketball is basketball,’’ she said. “As long as I’m playing, I’m comfortable.’’

Payne and the Lady Jets are the conference’s lone unbeaten team at 6-0. Murray State is at 4-3 after beating NOC Tonkawa 76-55 on Thursday.

The Lady Jets are riding a six-game winning streak.

“We have been taking strides in the right direction,’’ Payne said. “We’re coming together as a team when we need to.’’

Payne is hungry to return to the national tournament, where she had her finest moment as a player.

She hit a three-point shot from the sideline with 2.8 seconds left in a 55-52 upset of Vincennes in the national quarterfinals. The Lady Jets were eliminated the next night.

“That was really exciting,’’ Payne said. “I hope we can go a little farther this year.’’

Payne has been a solid leader for the Lady Jets, coach Scott Morris said, for a team which lost all five of its starters.

Payne tries to be both a vocal and a leader-by-example. She has plenty of experience in the latter.

“I feel like I’ve been successful because I work at it,’’ Payne said. “I go into the gym and shoot extra.’’

Payne said the team chemistry is good. She enjoys hanging out with her teammates in her spare time.

Payne grew up in the country around Perkins. She was involved with barrel racing until she was 16.

“I won a couple of pee wees when I was little,’’ she said about her rodeo career. “You have to be a little more mentally prepared in rodeo because you have to rely on yourself and the horse. In basketball, there’s always teammates to help you. I always like basketball better.’’

She still is a country girl at heart.

“Sometimes when I get home, I’ll ride for fun,’’ Payne said.

Payne will get her associate degree in physical education, but is looking at studying occupational therapy or sports management when she goes to a four-year college.

“I’m pretty open-minded about the future,’’ she said. “There’s a few schools that I’m looking at. I don’t have a favorite school. I’ll go wherever I have the best chance of getting to play.’’

Her parents are patriotic. Payne’s sister is named Liberty.



Jets look to bounce back



The NOC Enid men will try to bounce back from Thursday’s 85-70 loss to Connors. The Jets are 3-3 in conference and 11-6 overall.

Murray State is tied with Connors for the conference lead at 5-2 after losing to NOC Tonkawa, 68-64 in two overtimes on Thursday. Tim Smallwood had 22 points for the Aggies while Jordan Lankster had 12.

The Jets had one of their better games of the season in beating NOC Tonkawa, 90-79 Jan. 9 on the road.

NOC Enid assistant coach Ryan Mahoney said after the Connors loss the Jets need to have more composure down the stretch.

The Jets are led by Xavier McClish (17.5 ppg) and Dalen Qualls (11.2). Travis Carbajal is coming off back-to-back games in double figures for the first time this season.

STANDINGS



Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference Standings

Women

NOC Enid    6-0

Seminole    5-1

NEO    5-2

Murray State    4-3

Redlands    3-4

Connors    3-4

Carl Albert    3-4

Tonkawa    2-4

Western    2-5

Eastern    0-6

Men

Murray State    5-2

Connors    5-2

Eastern    4-2

NEO    4-3

Redlands    4-3

NOC Enid    3-3

NOC Tonkawa    3-3

Seminole    3-3

Western    2-5

Carl Albert    0-7