ALVA, OKLAHOMA - Northwestern Oklahoma State Lady Rangers opened their final trip to Arkansas with a 71-63 come from behind victory over the Reddies Thursday evening. Northwestern's defense stepped up late holding the Reddies 1 of 8 to close the game out, as the offense finished the job for the eight point win. The win makes it five in a row for the Lady Rangers.
The Lady Rangers earned win number 20 of the season moving to 20-3 overall with a 12-3 conference mark. First time the Lady Rangers have hit the 20 win mark since the 1999-2000 season finishing with 24 wins.
Faith Simpson led the team with 41 points in the win while adding six rebounds. Josena Frame finished the game with eight points, six rebounds and four assists.Â
Henderson State opened the scoring with a three pointer by Gittens after a blocked shot by Faith Simpson. Simpson answered on the other end putting the Rangers on the board trailing 3-2. Northwestern grabbed their first lead as Simpson stole the ball and later grabbed an offensive rebound put back for 4-3 lead. The Lady Rangers answered back after the Reddies took the lead with a 7-0 run to open an 11-5 lead following a layup from Paige Scott and three pointer by Payton Jones. Henderson State answered though with a quick 7-0 run of their own to regain the lead as the two teams went back and forth. Simpson put the Rangers up 15-12 as the Lady Ranger defense held the Reddies scoreless for two minutes. The Reddies regained the lead one last time in the quarter as they held on the rest of the way in the opening 10 minutes taking a 23-17 lead following a three pointer and a couple of foul shots.Â
The second quarter the two teams traded baskets early before Henderson State grabbed their largest lead at that point in the game at eight to take a 27-19 lead. Halfway through the second quarter the Lady Rangers cut it to five but the Reddies answered, extending their lead with a three for a 37-28 lead over the Lady Rangers. The two teams hit a scoring drought as the Lady Rangers trailed 37-30 from the 4:54 mark to 1:58 left in the first half before a three pointer by Gittens pushed the deficit to double digits. Josena Frame hit a layup with a minute left to end the scoring drought and went into halftime down by eight points.Â
In the second half Faith Simpson scored the Lady Rangers first four points of the half keeping the Lady Rangers in striking distance. The defenses battled as the game hit a scoring drought as the score remained the same for two minutes. Josena Frame ended the drought bringing the Lady Rangers back within five points. Payton Jones continued the Lady Rangers run bringing the team back within three. Henderson State answered back with a 6-0 run to take a 49-40 lead over the Lady Rangers. Simpson hit a couple of foul shots in the final seconds to send the game into the fourth quarter trailing 53-46.Â
The fourth quarter the Lady Rangers continued to chip into their deficit as Simpson and Carly Craig hit a couple of shots, as Craig and Simpson's off the break brought it within four at 56-52. Simpson scored four straight to even the game at 56-56 for the first time since the opening quarter. The Lady Rangers were able to grab their first lead since the first quarter following a couple of Simpson foul shots for two of her 41 points. The Lady Rangers went on a 6-0 run to take a 66-61 lead over the Reddies. After taking the lead the Lady Rangers closed the game out at the foul line with five straight to seal the 71-63 victory over the Reddies.Â
Northwestern will close out the trip to Arkansas with a Saturday afternoon game at Ouachita Baptist with tip-off scheduled for 1:00 PM.
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