Northwestern’s women’s basketball team held on in the crucial minutes of the game to take down arch-rival Southwestern Oklahoma State by a final score of 87-80.
In an electric atmosphere inside Percefull Fieldhouse, the Rangers pounced on the Bulldogs early and used some clutch free throw shooting down the stretch to give head coach Tasha Diesselhorst her first win over rival Southwestern.
Junior Kori Barrios had a banner day with 29 points, eight rebounds, and two assists. Barrios was 8 for her first 11 shots, scoring 22 points in the first half alone. Deja Beechum continued her emergence as a vital part of the Ranger offensive attack with 20 points of her own along with six rebounds and two assists.
Kalea King also provided some quality points for the Rangers, totaling 18 on the night and continued to garner the attention of the Southwestern defense while her counterparts attacked.
The Rangers shot 41 percent on the evening, as well as hitting 17-27 free throw attempts. The Northwestern defense finally showed what coach Diesselhorst was looking for on the defensive side of the ball and held one of the GAC’s top-scoring offenses to just 35.8 percent shooting from the field.
It was evident from the early stages of the game that the crowd had a profound effect on the Rangers, as even the Bulldogs looked a bit surprised by the intensity and the emotion across the board for Northwestern. Barrios proved to be the driving force of that energy, which seemed to travel throughout her teammates. The Rangers opened up a 49-31 lead in the first half, thanks in a large part to the 15 forced turnovers that resulted in 16 points for the home team.
The Bulldogs came out in the second half and gave the Rangers all they could handle. Northwestern started the final quarter leading 67-48, but a 19-7 run by Southwestern over a four minute span narrowed the Ranger lead to just 74-67 with 3:59 left to play. Four straight free throw makes from Barrios stalled any hope of a Bulldog comeback for the time being, but a lay-up on the fast break with just 34 seconds remaining brought the Bulldogs back to within two points.
The Bulldogs fouled and sent King to the line, where she hit both free throw attempts. Northwestern’s pressure defense stepped up again and forced a Bulldog turnover underneath the basket, forcing a foul that allowed senior Ashley Pride to essentially seal the ball game with 16 seconds left.
The Rangers will enjoy this big-time win for just a few days before they return to the court against Oklahoma Baptist on today at Percefull Fieldhouse. That game is set for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.