by Athletic Communications
The Northwestern Oklahoma State University basketball team were ready to start their season Friday evening. As Northwestern hosted the GAC/MIAA/NSIC Challenge this year.
To start off, the Lady Rangers would draw the Riverhawks to open up. The Rangers were able to prevail an early Northeastern attack and win this game 71-59 behind 27 points from senior guard Kalea King.
NWOSU would get off to a slow start in this one falling behind 18-8 during the first quarter with 2:58 left in the opening quarter.
The Lady Rangers would us an 8-0 run in the final minutes of the quarter to spark their comeback. After the first quarter Rangers trailed 18-16.
After teams started trading baskets throughout the quarter the Rangers finally got an advantage on a King jumper to give the Rangers a 31-30 lead late in the quarter. NWOSU would carry a 32-30 lead into the break.
The Riverhawks would even the score to start the half at 32 apiece. However, he Rangers would outscore the Riverhawks 24-13 in the quarter with 11 free throws to take a 56-43 lead into the final quarter.
NWOSU would make sure there was no thought of a comeback from the Riverhawks in the fourth quarter. The lady Rangers won 71-59 in their first game of the season.
NWOSU’s men’s basketball took a tough loss in their season opener against Northeastern State as they hosted the GAC/MIAA/NSIC Challenge on Friday night
Northwestern started off slow early in the game as they went 8-28 in the first half of the match-up.
After some back-and-forth early on the Riverhawks stepped on the gas and took a hefty 19-point lead that made the score 30-11 with 6:24 left in the first half. Back-to-back buckets from Whitfield would spur the Black-and-Red into some action as they ended the first half with a 14-point deficit at 37-23.
The Rangers came out better in the beginning minutes of the second half as junior Nathan Bailey nailed a huge three to get the Rangers to within nine at 39-30 with 17 minutes left in the second half. The Rangers dropped the match-up with a final score of 74-53.
The Rangers excelled in the paint with 28 points to Northeastern’s 22, however the team struggled to stop the offensive boards from the Riverhwaks.
Up next, the men’s basketball will travel to Wichita, Kansas to play Newman University on Nov. 16. The women’s team will travel to Emporia, Kansas to play Emporia State on Nov. 14