ALVA, OKLAHOMA - Northwestern Oklahoma State Women's Basketball returned home for the first of three straight home games. The Lady Rangers went on to win by a final score of 66-55 after scoring seven straight points, which opened a eight point lead before closing the win out for the second straight victory.
The Lady Rangers improved to 17-3 on the season with a 9-3 conference record following the victory Saturday afternoon.Â
Northwestern had four scorers in double figures on Saturday with Payton Jones and Faith Simpson leading the team with 17 points each followed by Camille Thomas with 14 and Carly Craig with 11. Carly Craig added six steals to lead the team on the defensive side of the floor. Faith Simpson's five rebounds this afternoon gives her 1,000 career rebounds in her collegiate career!
East Central started the scoring Saturday with a three pointer by Tatum Havens with a three pointer but Payton Jones answered the call with a three pointer of her own assisted by Faith Simpson to quickly tie the game. The two defenses were locked in early after a two minute scoring drought as the Rangers turned it over twice but forced five turnovers in that span. Carly Craig's first three pointer of the afternoon gave the Lady Rangers their first lead of the game at 7-6 with 4:32 left in the opening quarter. East Central struck for an 8-2 run from six points from Mackenzie Crusoe which put the Tigers in front 14-9. The Lady Rangers trailed 16-11 with just under a minute left in the first quarter before a quick 5-0 in the final 27 seconds tied the game at 16 after the first quarter. Camille Thomas hit two foul shots before a Faith Simpson rebound leading to a Carly Craig buzzer beater three at the end of the first quarter to give her eight points in the first.Â
Summya Adigun regained the lead for the Lady Rangers early in the second quarter with a three pointer assisted by Josena Farme for a 19-18 lead. East Central answered with a run as the Tigers took a 26-22 lead over the Rangers with 3:56 left in the quarter. The final three minutes much like the first quarter went to the Rangers as Northwestern held East Central to 0-4 shooting and forced two turnovers with two steals in that stretch. It was started by a Craig three pointer followed by a Nikya Orange jump shot that pushed the Rangers back in front at 27-26 before Camille Thomas and Payton Jones sent the Lady Rangers into halftime with a 31-26 lead following back to back possessions with points following East Central misses.Â
The Lady Rangers continued into their third quarter widening the lead as their 9-0 run to end the first half stretched into the second opening a 38-26 lead for a 16-0 run in total. The second half started with a 7-0 run the Lady Rangers went perfect to start getting five from P. Jones and two from Simpson. Kate Ogle gave the Tigers their first points of the second half following a layup to bring their deficit back down to 10. Camille Thomas quickly put the Lady Rangers back up 12. The Tigers though got back into the game with a 5-0 run following points from Kennedy Cummings to cut the Lady Rangers lead to 46-41. Simpson kept the Lady Rangers out in front with four straight points to close out the third quarter heading to the fourth with the lead 52-45.
East Central continued to chip into the Lady Ranger lead opening the fourth quarter with five straight points. The Tigers had scored on a Taum Havens three pointer two minutes into the quarter as the defensive intensity rose to open the quarter. The five points were the only points scored in the opening four minutes for the fourth. Faith Simpson ended the scoring drought with a layup that sparked a run as she scored five straight in the game. Overall the Lady Rangers scored seven straight over the three minute span taking a 59-51 lead with 3:28 remaining in the game following two foul shots by Camille Thomas. Payton Jones sealed the win with four straight points at the foul line to give the Lady Rangers a 66-55 victory over the Tigers.
The Lady Rangers will be home for two more in a row starting with Southern Arkansas on Thursday evening at 5:30 PM before playing against Arkansas Monticello on Saturday afternoon with a 1:00 PM tip-off.
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