ALVA, Okla. – The No. 24 Northwestern Oklahoma State women's basketball team fell to Arkansas Tech, 86-85, in overtime on Saturday afternoon.

The Lady Rangers got off to a slow start, as Arkansas Tech opened the game on a 8-2 run before Kira Bass scored inside and Catyn Graham knocked down a three-pointer to bring the lead down to one. Bass attacked inside the paint after a pair of free throws from Conley Cayot to tie the game at 11-11 midway through the opening quarter. The Golden Suns responded with a 9-2 run that ended when Kennedy Hight nailed a jumper to bring the deficit back to five. At the end of the first quarter, the Golden Suns led, 25-20.

Arkansas Tech extended their lead to eight with a three early in the second quarter, but the Lady Rangers started a rally with treys from Hight and Summya Adigun to bring the Golden Sun lead down to three with 7:05 remaining in the first half. Both teams continued to battle for momentum, but Northwestern closed the quarter with a 5-0 stretch capped by a layup from Hight to close Arkansas Tech's lead down to one at halftime.

Both teams traded buckets to start the second half, with Cayot and Adigun hitting back-to-back threes to give the Lady Rangers their first lead of the game with 7:41 remaining in the quarter. The lead bounced back and forth between Northwestern and Arkansas Tech, but the Lady Rangers gained the upper hand on an 8-0 run to go up by four late in the quarter. Arkansas Tech countered with a 5-0 stretch to retake the lead going into the fourth quarter, 62-61.

Neither team could pull away from each other in the fourth quarter, as the largest lead of the quarter came when Jaida Shipp converted on an and-one with five minutes left in regulation. The Lady Rangers kept the lead with a pair of free throws and a bucket from Bass, but the Golden Suns scored in the finals seconds to send the game to overtime tied at 82-82. The Lady Rangers scored the first three points of overtime, but Arkansas Tech outscored them 4-0 in the final two minutes to win, 86-85

Bass led the Lady Rangers in scoring and rebounds with 21 points and eight boards, while Hight led in assists with five.

The Lady Rangers will be back in action on Feb. 5, when they travel to Arkadelphia, Arkansas to take on Henderson State University at 5:30 p.m.

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