MONTICELLO, Ark. – The No. 19 Northwestern Oklahoma State women's basketball team defeated Arkansas-Monticello, 77-62, on Thursday night. The win moves the Lady Rangers to 13-2 on the season and 8-1 in Great American Conference play.
The Lady Rangers immediately found themselves in a defensive battle, as
Kira Bass and
Camille Pritchard scored the opening six points of the game, but were tied at six midway through the opening quarter. Northwestern continued to slowly pull away behind shots from Pritchard and
Catyn Graham, while
Kennedy Hight nailed a buzzer-beater to extend the lead to three at the end of the quarter.
In the second quarter, Northwestern extended the lead on a 7-0 run to bring the lead up to 24-14 with 8:42 remaining in the first half. The Lady Rangers and Cotton Blossoms continued to battle back-and-forth throughout the quarter, as Arkansas-Monticello cut the lead down to two.
The Lady Rangers started the second half on another 7-0 run, as Bass dominated in the paint to bring the Northwestern lead back up to nine with 6:48 to go in the quarter. Pritchard kept the momentum going by knocking down back-to-back shots to put Northwestern up 51-39 midway through the quarter. Northwestern continued to pour on the points, as Bass scored just before the end of the quarter to give the Lady Rangers a 58-44 advantage.
The Cotton Blossoms cut the deficit down to eight in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Rangers slammed the door with a 10-2 run late in the game to go up 70-55. Arkansas-Monticello tried to claw back, but Northwestern kept the lead at 15 to win 77-62.
Pritchard led the Lady Rangers in both scoring and assists, as she finished with a season-high 21 points and career-high five assists.
Summya Adigun led in rebounds with nine boards. On the defensive side,
Conley Cayot led in steals with four, while Bass led in blocks with three.
The Lady Rangers will be back in action on Jan. 17, when they travel to Magnolia, Arkansas to take on Southern Arkansas University at 1 p.m.
For the latest news and updates on NWOSU, follow @NWOSUAthletics on TWITTER or visit www.riderangersride.com
