ALVA, Okla.- Following two non-conference games against quality programs over the winter break, Northwestern's women's basketball team will look to get back to their winning ways and climb the conference standings during this weekend's road trip to Arkadelphia, Ark.

Those winning ways the Lady Rangers (3-7, 2-2 GAC) will look to get back to currently have them in a tie for sixth place in the Great American Conference standings with this Thursday evening's opponent Ouachita Baptist. Head Coach Tasha Diesselhorst's team showed that they will continue to be a tough game for any team despite being defeated in their last two games against Oklahoma Christian and nationally-ranked Pittsburg State.

Over the break the Lady Rangers have been working on improving on the defensive side of the ball as well as cutting down on the mental mistakes when the ball is in their possession. Coach Diesselhorst mentioned that the game against Pitt State showed the team exactly what they must do to continue to improve and defeat high-level teams.

"Our last game against Pitt State was a great opportunity to play a high caliber team." Coach Diesselhorst said. "We competed for a large part of the game and learned what areas we must improve in to be able to compete for 4 quarters."

The Lady Rangers are continuing to be led by junior Kalea King in scoring at 14.5 points per game. In the last conference game against Arkansas-Monticello on Dec. 3, King dropped 27 points, which stands as the fifth most points scored by a player all season in the GAC.

During that same weekend at home in Percefull Fieldhouse against Southern Arkansas and Arkansas-Monticello, outside-shooting specialist Kori Barrios started to get in the rhythm that can make her a dangerous scoring compliment to King. Barrios shot 46 percent from the three-point line on her way to posting scoring totals of 15 and 16 points in the two games. Coach Diesselhorst is excited about the energy Kori can bring to the whole team when she gets going from the outside.

King and Barrios along with multiple other Rangers that played key roles in the team's first two conference victories will look to address the areas of improvement that were focused on over the break and come away with big-time wins on the road.

Ouachita Baptist (5-5, 2-2 GAC) will attempt to remain undefeated at home when the Lady Rangers visit them on Thursday evening. A lot of that home success can be attributed to the Tiger's stellar defense, which has limited opposing teams to just 62.8 points per game, good enough for second in the GAC. Sophomore Alivia Huell currently ranks fourth in the GAC averaging 2.3 steals a game in conference play.

On offense the Tigers use a balanced approach that has led to seven different players averaging at least seven points a game. Ouachita also ranks fourth in the GAC shooting 32 percent from three-point range.

The Lady Rangers will then go from facing the fourth best long-range shooting team in the conference to the best shooting team in the conference on Saturday in Henderson State (4-6, 4-0 GAC.) The Reddies are currently tied at the top of the GAC standings and feature the league's highest scoring offense, averaging 85.8 points a game in conference play. That high-scoring offense is spurred by freshman Pink Jones, who leads the league with 75 points through four games.

Coach Diesselhorst and her team are ready for the challenge that they will face on Saturday and will look to stick to a game plan in a hostile environment. "We will have to play well defensively against Henderson." Coach Diesselhorst said. "We want to take advantage of our opportunities on offense, but not get in a shootout and be able to get stops on defense."

The Lady Rangers will look to stay right in the mix of a post-season spot in the GAC Tournament this weekend with games set to tip-off on Thursday evening at 5:30 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
Thursday vs OUACHITA BAPTIST: Click here for Live Stats and Click here for Live Video
 
Saturday vs HENDERSON STATE: Click here for Live Stats and Click here for Live Video

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