MAGNOLIA Ark. – The Lady Rangers returned to action Thursday evening in tremendous fashion as it did not look like the missed a step after the long winter break. Northwestern returned to action with a 77-49 victory over Great American Conference Opponent Southern Arkansas. NWOSU used their defense to spark them in the second and early third quarter to really take momentum and full control of the game.
Bailey Brown led all scorers with 20 points, and added 11 rebounds for another double-double in the season.
Kalea King would also add a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Senior,
Jakeria Otey finished with 16 points on an impressive 54% shooting. The last player in double figures is
Kenzi Lamer who finished with 11 points on the night.
Presley Payahsape led the charge in the first half keeping the Lady Rangers within striking distance, along with leading the run in the second quarter. Payahsape's mid-range shot from around the foul line sparked the 23-0 run for the Lady Rangers that continued from the second to third quarter. Baily Brown's start to the second half continued that run as the Lady Rangers took over the game in a quarter they won 30-10.
Northwestern took advantage of two big areas which helped lead to this victory. First points off of turnovers in an area Southern Arkansas has been really good so far this season, the Lady Rangers found a way to beat them 23-11 in that category. The second one is points in the paint where NWOSU dominated inside winning that margin 38-22.
The Muleriders opened the game with the first five points this evening, which was followed by a quick 8-0 run by the Rangers to cancel that out. After trading leads a few times Southern Arkansas was able to build a 17-10 lead on another run of their own. They shot 31.8% in the quarter and hit three 3-pointers in the quarter that helped give the Muleriders a 17-13 lead over the Lady Rangers in the quarter. NWOSU would shoot 40% from the field but were only able to hit one three in the quarter and were held scoreless from the foul line.
After a standoff in the first opening minutes of the second quarter where the teams were just trading possession after possession. Neither team could find any momentum in the game, until the 7:12 mark in the quarter. Payahsape hit a mid-range jumper to make the deficit 23-21. This is where the defense would take over in the game from this point on leading to the offensive scoring chances. The Lady Rangers would hold the Muleriders to a poor 2-of-17 from the field in the quarter and hold them to six points. This opened a 28-23 lead at halftime after a 9-0 run to close the half. The Lady Rangers would hold Southern Arkansas to 3-for-21 from 3-point range.
The third quarter would start right where the Lady Rangers left off as they carried that 9-0 run into the third quarter. Brown opened the half with an 8-0 run of her own bringing NWOSU's run to 17-0 and opening a 36-23 lead. After a Southern Arkansas turnover lead to a
Kyleigh Leverich 3-pointer. The run would get to as many as 23-0 to build a 42-23 lead. The Rangers shot 73% from the field on 11-of-15 shooting in the third quarter, while holding the Muleriders to 3-17 from the field. Lady Rangers would win the quarter 30-10 and open a 58-33 lead after the third.
With the Lady Rangers holding 25 points entering the final quarter they showed no signs of slowing down, instead they won the final frame 19-16 holding the opponent again to below 30% shooting in the quarter. The Lady Rangers would win this game 77-49. The Black-and-Red would finish the game shooting 5-15 in that final quarter.
Northwestern would finish the game 28-64, good for 43% from the field, 7-22 from 3-point range and 14-20 from the foul line. The Lady Rangers never trailed in the second half of this game. Southern Arkansas would shoot 17-73, 29% for the game, 6-38 from three good for 15% and 9-14 from the charity stripe.
The win improves Northwestern on the year to 7-4 and improving to 3-2 in Great American Conference play. The Lady Rangers will travel to Arkansas Monticello for Saturday's matchup at 1 p.m.
For the latest news and updates on NWOSU Women's Basketball, follow @NWOSUAthletics on TWITTER or visit www.riderangersride.com.
