By OAKLEE FIELDER
The Lady Rangers lost to East Central and defeated Southeastern Oklahoma State this week, as they fight to keep a podium spot in the standings.
The women’s season continues to heat up as the end of the 2026 campaign in its closing chapters. The win over Southeastern gave them a two-game buffer between the Lady Rangers and Henderson State. The next four games after this week look to be easy wins for Northwestern, but nothing is ever for certain.
NWOSU 56-61 ECU
The Lady Rangers struggled to find a grip against the East Central Tigers, leading to a close defeat to ECU.
The first quarter did not go well for the Lady Rangers, as they were outscored by East Central by ten points in the opening quarter. The Lady Rangers did not have a great start, but caught the Tigers midway through the quarter. Then, the Tigers had a small run and increased their lead to ten. The two teams traded free throws to end the first quarter.
The second quarter was a much more close competition, although the Tigers did increase their lead by the end of it to 13. The Lady Rangers were able to cut the Tigers’ lead down to seven halfway through the quarter, but then East Central went on a run to extend their lead once again to end the quarter.
Northwestern started catching up in the third quarter, but it wasn’t by much. The two teams started battling back and forth for points, but eventually ECU was able to earn themselves an 18-point lead. Then, the Lady Rangers went on a run to cut it down by six points to just a 12-point lead to end the third quarter.
The fourth quarter is when the Lady Rangers shined. They were able to reel the Tigers in slowly but surely. At the midpoint of the final quarter, the Lady Rangers were only down by 10. Then, they were able to shrink that lead to just five. Unfortunately, there was just not enough time for Northwestern to complete the comeback, and the Tigers defeated the Lady Rangers 61-56.
Kira Bass led the Lady Rangers in scoring as she had 16 points to her name. Jaida Shipp was a close second with 10 points. Bass had nine rebounds and one steal. Kennedy Hight and Summya Adigun had three steals apiece.
SEOSU 64-74 NWOSU
The Lady Rangers were able to pull off the win in their first game back home after four straight away games.
The Lady Rangers outscored the Savage Storm in both the first and second quarters. In the second, Southeastern only scored eight points, sucking the life out of their game. That second quarter was why the Lady Rangers pulled off the win over Southeastern.
Adigun showed her full potential against Southeastern, as she scored a career high 27 points. Adigun make 9-17 field goals, 6-9 three-pointers and did not miss a free throw. Bass scored 17 points and had an impressive 18 rebounds. Hight had 15 points and Shipp had 12.
The Lady Rangers sit third in standings, under Arkansas Tech and over Henderson State. Next up for NWOSU is Sothern Arkansas and Monticello.