By Megan Maharry
Sports Editor
The Lady Rangers took on heated rival Southwestern Oklahoma State University last Thursday at home. It was a tough loss as the Lady Rangers fell 97-79 to the nationally ranked Lady Bulldogs.
Senior point guard Jade Jones joined the 1,000 Point Club Thursday night against the Lady Bulldogs. Jones tallied 12 points against SWOSU which gave her 1,004 career points.
Sophomore Bailey Brown had a solid night for the Lady Rangers as she finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds to earn her third double-double of the season.
Brown’s 16 rebounds are the most rebounds in a game by a Lady Ranger at the Division II era and the most since a player in 2006.
The Lady Rangers fought hard and outrebounded the Lady Bulldogs 37-33. SWOSU averages around 41 boards a contest.
In the first quarter, Jones drained a three to give the Lady Rangers the advantage. They trailed momentarily in the second before Presley Payahspe found the three-point line to give them another quick lead.
SWOSU went on to complete a 9-0 run and continued their momentum in the second half of the ball game. They held a lead of 17 points until the Lady Rangers fired back.
McKenzie Billy found a three and Brown hit a jumped in the paint.
Unfortunately, time expired on the Lady Rangers, who were unable to come away with the victory. The Lady Bulldogs proved a power shooting team, as they knocked down 18 three-point shots.
SWOSU’s Hailey Tucker, the Great American Conference’s all-time leading scorer, tacked 28 points against the Lady Rangers.
Looking for redemption, the Lady Rangers took to the road to face the Lady Bison of Oklahoma Baptist. The game came all the way down to the wire, as Kalea King came in clutch with a jumper at the buzzer to take the victory 67-65.
The victory was the Lady Ranger’s first on the road against Oklahoma Baptist since the 2007 season. It also snapped the Lady Ranger’s four-game road losing streak. The Lady Rangers held a 50-39 advantage in the beginning of the fourth quarter before OBU hit a spark to go on a 7-0 run.
A couple of points by the Lady Rangers bumped their lead back to seven until OBU brought it within two. With two seconds to go, King pulled up in the paint to bank the shot, ultimately giving the Lady Rangers the victory.
Brown nearly reached her fourth double-double with 11 points and eight rebounds. The Lady Rangers are now 6-11 overall and 3-7 in conference standings.
The Lady Rangers will return home on Jan. 24 to face the Lady Bison of Harding.
Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.