ALVA, OKLA.- The Northwestern Oklahoma State Lady Rangers (3-4, 0-2 GAC) are set to match up with the Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm (6-3, 1-1 GAC) Saturday afternoon, with the tip-off set for 1 PM at the Sawyer Center in Bethany, Oklahoma.
The Lady Rangers are coming off of two conference losses to Oklahoma Baptist and East-Central the past week, while the Crimson Storm split the past week with a win against East Central and a loss to Southeastern.
This will be the first meeting between the two teams this season. The Rangers will look to end a five-game losing streak to the Storm after Southern Nazarene took the three meetings last season.
Northwestern is led by senior Bailey Brown, averaging 18.3 points per game on 58.2% shooting from the field. The following Lady Ranger is Andi Pierce at 9.4 points per game, followed by Kinsey Neiderer and Carly Craig at 8.3 per game. Craig leads the team in assists with 29 per game averaging 4.14 per game, followed by Brown with 11 and Josena Frame with 10. The Red-and-Black offense averages 77.4 points per game through the season's opening seven games, which is 21st in the nation and sixth in the Great American Conference. The Lady Rangers average 13.6 assists per game for sixth in the conference.
The Ranger offense averages 77.4 points per game which is sixth in the conference with 13.6 assists per game ranked sixth in the conference. Northwestern has shot the ball well from behind the arc knocking down 61 three pointers in the early going for third in the conference. Neiderer has led the charge here hitting a team high 16 three pointers on 48.5 percent shooting.
The Red-and-Black's defense allows 60.6 points per game which is third-best in the conference. A large part of the defensive success has been the ability of the Lady Rangers to steal. Northwestern averages 12.4 steals per game, led by Josena Frame and Brown with 12 each. Brown leads the team with five blocks, followed by Camille Thomas, as the team averages 2.3 blocks per game. Brown leads the team with 6.3 rebounds per game, followed by Scout Frame with 4.3 per game.
Scouting the Crimson Storm:
Southern Nazarene has three scorers averaging double figures, led by Cassandra Awatt at 11.8 points per game, followed by Kennedy Gillette and Jaycee Soap at 10 points per game each. Soap is the floor general for the Storm with a team-high 20 assists, followed by Emily Monaghan with 16 assists.
Gillette leads the Southern Nazarene defense with 27 steals through the opening seven games, followed by Soap with 20. Abby Niehues leads the team with 14 blocks in the early going of the season, followed by three players with two each. Await leads the team in rebounding with 59 for 6.6 per game.
The Crimson Storm led the series history 18-7 since 2010 as the Rangers look for their first win since 2019, where the Lady Rangers swept the 2018-2019 season series.
Saturday afternoon's links to follow can be found at:
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/user/SNUCrimsonStorm
Stats: https://snuathletics.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
For the latest news and updates on NWOSU Women's Basketball, follow @NWOSUAthletics on TWITTER or visit www.riderangersride.com.
