ADA, OKLAHOMA - Northwestern OKlahoma State Lady Rangers had their three game win streak snapped on Saturday. Northwestern tried to use a big third quarter to pull off a comeback victory but it fell just short to East Central on the road.
Northwestern falls to 9-9 on the season with a 6-6 GAC record following the loss as East Central improves to 6-10 with a 4-6 GAC mark.
The Lady Rangers had four players in double figures led by Camille Thomas with 19 points, seven rebounds, three steals, and three assists. Carly Craig had 14 points, as did Jaida Shipp and Tegan Jones with 10 points each. With the seven rebounds by Camille Thomas she now has reached the milestone of 500 career rebounds at Northwestern.
East Central started the scoring with a three pointer hit by Katie Edelen for the early lead. Jaida Shipp put the Rangers on the board with the first points. The Tigers were able to knock down two three pointers in the quarter including six shots for 46%. After the Tigers had stretched the lead to 5 it was a Tegan Jones three pointer that pushed the Lady Rangers back within two points. The Tigers answered though in the closing seconds of the first quarter with a shot behind the arc to take a 14-9 lead into the second quarter as the Tigers led after one by five.
The Tigers scored first in the second quarter pushing the lead to their largest at that point in the game for a 16-9 lead. After a couple Lady Rangers points the Tigers answered back with a three from Kayley Alt, and Peyton Mosely to take the lead to double digits for the first time of the game at 22-12. Craig drilled one to answer, with two minutes left in the quarter but East Central hit back to back shots to take a 28-15 before another Craig three right before halftime for a 28-18 Lady Ranger deficit at the break. East Central held the Lady Rangers to 3-12 in the quarter helping build the double digit lead.
The third quarter for the Lady Rangers was the strongest offensively and defensively out scoring East Central by seven after shooting 69.2 percent from the floor. Started with four straight for East Central before Camille Thomas hit a jumper assisted by Craig, for the three point play. This was the first of five straight for Thomas followed by a Tegan Jones three as the Rangers scored eight straight points getting back within six points. Lady Rangers got the run to 10-0 before East Central was able to hit a three pointer by Katie Edelen to extend the lead to 35-28. After the three pointer the Lady Rangers scored seven straight points capped by four straight by Thomas to tie the game at 35-35. The Teams traded baskets before East Central went back up three with a basket right before the end of the quarter at 43-40 through three quarters.
Lady Rangers were able to shoot 72.7 percent from the floor but East Central was able to out score Northwestern by one. In the fourth quarter the Lady Rangers continued to climb back, chipping into the deficit a few different times getting as close as one and two. With 4:15 left in the quarter East Central pushed their lead back to six points but Tegan Jones, Kira Bass, and Camille Thomas got the Lady Rangers back within one at 56-55 after a three point play. Craig answered a Tigers three pointer with 17 seconds left in the game but after the two teams traded turnovers the Tigers sealed the win at 62-58.
The Lady Rangers had their three game win streak snapped Saturday after the loss and will be back in action on Thursday evening in Searcy, Arkansas against the Harding Bisons, with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 PM.
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