By TRAVIS HARMON-SMITH
Staff Reporter
Senior day is a moment when families of players share positive emotions for the contributions their sons and daughters have made during their athletic careers.
Northwestern honored four seniors Saturday afternoon. Darrian Dempsey was the lone senior honored for men’s basketball, while the women honored Emily Eaton, Jonna Gregory and Kayleigh Crowe.
In addition to senior day, former sports legends of Northwestern athletics were inducted into the Hall of Fame during halftime of the women’s contest.
Following the early festivities, the Ranger women (10-15, 9-10 GAC) struggled early during the first contest against the Cotton Blossoms of Arkansas-Monticello.
The Cotton Blossoms opened with an early 22-3 run as eight minutes went by in the first half. The Rangers looked effective around the perimeter as guards Jonae Isaac and Ashley Pride handled the ball well against the Cotton Blossom defense, resulting in easy transition baskets. Northwestern cut the Cotton Blossom lead down to single digits with two minutes left; however the Cotton Blossoms had a 10-point advantage heading into halftime.
In the second half, the Rangers came out with effective offense, shooting well inside the paint and making it a six-point game in the closing minutes.
The Rangers made a few more baskets to close it a one-point deficit at the 1:39 mark. With five seconds left, Isaac dribbled past a Cotton Blossom defender from the top of the key for an easy lay-up as the Cotton Blossoms were whistled for a foul. Isaac would miss the free throw opportunity, but the Cotton Blossom bench was whistled for a late technical foul, which allowed senior Emily Eaton, the opportunity to hit both free throws, giving the Rangers a 69-66 win.
Northwestern men’s basketball provided the same intensity the Rangers did against Arkansas-Monticello. In the first 20 minutes, the Weevils sparked an early lead, going up 19-17 at the 11:46 mark. Senior star guard Darrian Dempsey hit a three-pointer from deep, which gave Northwestern a 20-19 lead. After Dempsey’s trey from deep, Northwestern annihilated the Weevil defense for most of the first half with efficient jump shooting inside the paint from guards Laakeem Henderson and T’Aries Taylor, which sparked a 25-5 run for Northwestern. Arkansas-Monticello’s defense deteriorated throughout the first half as the Rangers went up 47-26 with 4:37 left in the first. Going in at halftime, Northwestern had a comfortable 25-point lead against the Weevils.
In the second, annihilation became domination for the Ranger offense as Northwestern extended its lead to 30 points, which buried the Arkansas-Monticello defense. The two-headed monster of Darrian Dempsey and Taylor combined for 47 points against the Boll Weevils as Northwestern destroyed Arkansas-Monticello in a 30-point 105-82 victory.
Isaac led the Rangers with 17 points, as Bozeman provided 15, along with Eaton’s 11 points. .
Darrian Dempsey had a stellar day for the Rangers with 24 points, going 7-of-11 from the field and 9-of-11 from the free throw line. Adrian Motley finished with a double-double 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Laakeem Henderson rounded out the scoring with 14.
Both teams are on the road this week for their season finales against arch-rival and Great American Conference opponent Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford. Tip-off for the women is 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. for the men.