By NICK VILLALOBOS
Editor-in-Chief
Women’s basketball falls to East Central 42-40 in the late moments at home.
The Rangers entered Percefull Fieldhouse Saturday riding a 10 game losing streak. Their most prior loss came to the Oklahoma Baptist University Bison who dropped the Red-and-Black 51-77 in Shawnee, Oklahoma on Thursday.
When play began against the Tigers, however, the Rangers would go back and forth with East Central for much of the first quarter following poor ball control from each team.
Both teams opened with a basket a piece, but a big three point shot from Ranger Relina Johnson dropped in the net with 18 seconds remaining in the first quarter giving the momentum to Northwestern as the second quarter began.
As play continued into the second quarter, Ranger Deja Beechum would continue to spark the offensive attack as she got her three-pointer to fall in the opening moments.
Midway through the quarter, the Rangers held a narrow 17-14 lead after the Tigers began closing the gap with a three point basket from Tiger Mariah Meyer.
After another Tiger three pointer that tied the game at 17 all, Rangers Jaylan Robinson and Kaci Hansen propelled Northwestern to a seven point lead headed into halftime.
When the first half came to a close the Rangers shot 34.8 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from beyond the arc and an impressive 87.5 percent from the free throw line. Leading the Ranger’s efforts in the first half was Beechum with nine points and Robinson with six points.
As the teams went back to battle in the second half, it was the Tigers who gained the momentum early.
The Rangers opened the third quarter with numerous missed shots and turnovers which ultimately helped in the surrendering of their lead.
Since the Tigers rallied back to tie the game at 27 all, the Rangers managed to stretch their lead to 31-27 with help from Johnson and Ashley Pride.
When the third quarter came to a close the Rangers held a slight three point lead thanks to the efforts of Hansen and Robinson in the later moments of the quarter.
The slight lead held up for the majority of the fourth quarter when both teams struggled from the field with both shooting and rebounding efforts. Each team struggled with fouls as well.
The turning point in the game came with just 1:25 remaining when Tiger Alexa Adair nailed a three point basket closing the Tigers deficit to one. East Central would then go onto make consecutive shots in the closing seconds, lifting them to a two point win when the final buzzer sounded.
The Rangers (0-11 GAC, 1-15 overall) next travel to Arkansas to face Harding University tonight at 5:30 p.m. and then Arkansas Tech on Saturday at 1 p.m..