ALVA, OKLAHOMA - Northwestern Oklahoma State Women's Basketball stormed back in the second half by out scoring the Tigers 38-26 to pull out the comeback win Saturday afternoon. The Rangers closed out the victory as Payton Jones sealed the game with the 1,000th point of her collegiate career.

Rangers improve to 12-10 on the season with a 9-7 GAC record, as the Tigers fall to 8-12 with a 4-12 conference mark. 

Payton Jones led the Rangers Saturday with 26 points, one of two players in double figures joined by Camille Thomas scoring 18 points in the game. Carly Craig led the way with four assists as Payton Jones had a team-high eight rebounds. Kira Bass led the defense with three steals and a block. 

Ouachita Baptist opened the game with the first points of the afternoon Saturday with a foul shot and a layup for the early lead. Payton Jones put the Rangers on the board with a fastbreak layup assisted by Craig. Back-to-back points from Bass had the game back to even at 6-6. Ouachita Baptist hit back-to-back three-pointers to take the lead back starting strong from behind the arc. Rangers then closed the quarter out with the final five points from Carly Craig and Isabella Peherson for the first-quarter lead at 14-12. 

Lily Mahy continued to the strong end of the quarter run into the second quarter hitting a three-pointer for the 17-12 lead. After the Tigers cut the Lady Ranger lead down to one at 20-19, the visitors used an 11-2 run to take a 30-22 lead late in the first half. The Tigers used three 3-pointers to take the eight-point lead over the Lady Rangers before Camille Thomas hit a shot to end their run. Ouachita Baptist took a six-point lead at 34-28 into the halftime break.

Camille Thomas scored the first three points for the Lady Rangers in the half before Payton Jones cut the deficit to one. Ouachita Baptist again used back-to-back three-pointers to keep the lead extending their lead back to five at 40-35. Ouachita Baptist maintained the four-point lead most of the quarter until the final minutes as Camille Thomas hitting back-to-back shots tied the game at 47-47 before Patyon Jones pushed the Lady Rangers in front 49-47. A final seconds three-pointer by the Tigers put Ouachita Baptist ahead 50-49 heading into the final quarter of the game.

In the fourth quarter, Payton Jones started strong with back-to-back layups giving the Lady Rangers a three-point lead and forcing Ouachita Baptist into a time-out. Jones scored two more points for the 6-0 run before the Tigers scored about three minutes into the final quarter. The Tigers were able to tie the game at 57-57 in the final two minutes of the game. However, the Lady Rangers stood strong with Jones driving to the basket taking the foul, and closing out the three-point play. Jones scored the final nine points for the Lady Rangers as the Northwestern defense forced three turnovers in the final two minutes to earn the 66-60 victory over the visiting Tigers splitting the season series. 

The Lady Rangers travel to Weatherford, Oklahoma on Thursday evening to face Southwestern Oklahoma State with tip-off set for 5:30 PM. The Lady Rangers then return home Saturday February 15th. 

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