HONOLULU, HAWAII - Northwestern Oklahoma State traveled to Hawaii for the Hoops in Hawaii Thanksgiving classic for the first of two games. Northwestern started things off with an 82-49 victory over Chaminade for the fifth straight victory to start the season.
The Lady Rangers are now 5-0 on the season. This is the first time since 2001-2002 the Lady Rangers have started 5-0 on the season.
In the victory Northwestern was led by Faith Simpson with 20 points as one of four double figure scorers followed by Syncere Harrod at 13 points, Carly Craig with 11 points, and Payton Jones 11 points. Simpson led the team with nine of the 51 team rebounds. Simpson got the job done defensively as well with two steals and two blocks.
Simpson was the first on the board scoring for the Rangers in the opening seconds of the game for an early 2-0 lead. This helped the Lady Rangers open the game on a 9-1 run as Northwestern defense made their presence known from the beginning. Simpson and Harrod combined for all nine points on the run while the defense held Chaminade to 0-4 shooting with a turnover. Chaminade's first basket came with three minutes into the game on a layup. As the quarter continued Syncere Harrod continued her great start to the game helping Northwestern close the quarter on a 14-2 run. Harrod had six of those 14 points for a total of nine in the quarter. Simpson had four for 10 points in the first quarter. Josena Frame pushed the Lady Ranger lead to 23-7 following an offensive rebound finishing with a layup. Northwestern defense forced three more turnovers on the run and held Chaminade to just three field goals in the first. The Red-and-Black held a 25-7 lead after the first quarter.
The lead was stretched to 20 points as Simpson once again opened the quarter with a turnaround jump shot for a 27-7 lead for her 14th point. Camille Thomas followed with a layup continuing to push the lead. Payton Jones helped the Lady Rangers continue to hold their lead scoring 11 points in the second quarter. She scored back to back basket for Northwestern stretching the lead to 33-10 before Summya Adigun followed with a layup. Chaminade had one of their best runs of the game in the middle of the second quarter with an 8-0 run over a two minute stretch to cut the deficit back under 20 points for a 17 point Lady Ranger lead. Chaminade hit a buzzer beater jumper right before halftime as Northwestern went into halftime with a 47-28 lead.
Emma Morris opened the second half with a three pointer hitting back to back three's to cut into the Lady Ranger lead down to 15. The score remained 49-34 from the 8:45 mark to the 6:15 left in the third quarter when Camille Thomas ended the scoring drought at the foul line. With the Rangers leading 52-37 Carly Craig scored five straight to push the lead back to 20 after a three pointer at the 2:43 mark of the third quarter. Craig then stretched the lead to 29 after she hit two three pointers in the final minute of the quarter giving her 11 points in the third quarter for a 68-39 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Summya Adigun pushed the lead to 32, the largest at that point in the game after opening the quarter with a three pointer assisted by Talayah Thomas, her third of the game. Simpson and Nikya Orange scored back to back shots to open the quarter on a 6-0 run. Halfway through the quarter Anna Motycka hit her first shot of the game finishing a layup on a Tegan Jones assist for a 79-46 lead. Tegan Jones knocked down three foul shots to give the Lady Rangers the 82-49 lead which turned into the final score as Northwestern closed out the victory. This was the fourth double digit victory of the season for Northwestern and third by at least twenty points.
Northwestern will look for their sixth straight victory with their final game in Honolulu with a matchup against Stanislaus State. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 PM HST and 5:00 PM CT on Saturday afternoon.
For the latest news and updates on NWOSU Athletics, follow @NWOSUAthletics on TWITTER or visit www.riderangersride.com.
