SEARCY, Ark. – The Northwestern Oklahoma State women's basketball team upset No. 7 Harding, 65-57, to give the Lady Rangers their first win over a top 10 opponent in two seasons. The victory moves the Lady Rangers to 7-1 on the season and 2-0 in Great American Conference play.

The Lady Rangers jumped out to a quick 4-2 lead early in the game behind layups from Kira Bass, but Harding responded with an 8-0 run midway through the first quarter to go up by six. The Lady Rangers could not reclaim the lead in the first quarter, but big shots from Catyn Graham and Jaida Shipp kept the Northwestern deficit at six at the end of the first quarter.

Graham knocked down two three-pointers in the first three minutes of the second quarter to bring the Lady Bisons lead down to five, but Harding went on an 8-2 stretch to expand its lead up to 11 with 4 minutes to play in the first half. The Lady Ranger defense tightened up, and Bass, Graham, Shipp, and Conley Cayot all contributed to close the gap down to three points at halftime on an 8-0 run.

Northwestern's defense continued to shine in the third quarter, as the Lady Rangers held the Lady Bisons to eight points in the entire quarter. Shipp continued to get buckets in the paint, with six of her 14 points coming in the third quarter. At the end of the third quarter, Northwestern held a 42-38 lead.

The fourth quarter went back-and forth between the Lady Rangers and Lady Bisons, with Graham hitting two timely treys to keep Northwestern up 52-45 with 5:30 to go in the game. Harding knocked down a three-pointer to get within two points, but Bass took over with a layup, steal, and another layup to bring the lead back up to six with 1:15 to play. In the final 33 seconds, the Lady Rangers went 7-8 from the free throw line to secure the upset and a 65-57 win.

Graham led the Lady Rangers in points with a career-high 23 and went 7-13 from beyond the arc, while three different players all led in rebounds with six. Cayot and Summya Adigun each had four assists, and Bass came up with five steals and blocked two shots.

The Lady Rangers will be back in action on Dec. 10, when they travel to Durant to take on Southeastern Oklahoma State University at 5:30 p.m.

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