By Logan Jones
Assist. Sports Editor
As the 2018-19 basketball season nears its end, Northwestern looked to finish strong as they took on Southwestern Oklahoma and Southeastern Oklahoma last week.
The Lady Rangers went up against the SWOSU Lady Bulldogs in Weatherford this past Thursday, losing by the score of 83-58.
Northwestern was first on the board with a fast break layup from Bailey Brown.
However, midway through the first quarter, Southwestern jumped to a 15-point lead, stopping any momentum the Lady Rangers had.
In the second quarter, the red and black cut the lead to five thanks to a big three-pointer from Bailey Forell.
The Bulldogs answered back accordingly by going on a 12-0 run, cushioning their lead at 45-34 heading into halftime.
In the second half, despite repeated efforts by the Lady Rangers, the girls just could not get anything going as Southwestern answered back whenever Northwestern cut into the lead.
At the final buzzer, the Lady Bulldogs came away with the win, 83-58.
Ranger standouts include redshirt junior, Kalea King who finished with a team-high 16 points, and Forell who scored eight points with three assists.
The girls returned to Alva with a vengeance when they took on the Savage Storm of Southeastern Oklahoma State, winning the 90-44 blowout.
From the first tip-off, the Lady Rangers jumped out to a quick lead and never looked back.
After a quick first half, the red and black had a 20-point advantage at 43-23.
The second half was where the Lady Rangers started to rack up the points.
At the end of the third quarter, the lead grew to 41 points and again to 46 points after the fourth.
Northwestern won the contest easily with a final score of 90-44.
School history was also made in the game, as sophomore Bailey Brown came down with 26 rebounds.
The previous record dates back to December of 1989 when Alice Byrd recorded 22 against Oklahoma Science and Art.
Brown also went on to score 17 points.
Other standouts include Kalea King, who continued her scoring dominance by collecting 27 points with three assists, and Kenzi Lamer who finished with 12 points and two assists.
With four games left in the regular season, the Lady Rangers improve to 10-15 overall and 7-11 in conference play, and currently have a one-game lead over Oklahoma Baptist for the final spot in the GAC Tournament.
NWOSU closes their home schedule next week when the Lady Rangers host Ouachita Baptist at 5:30 p.m. inside Percefull Fieldhouse on Thursday.
The game against Henderson State will follow on Saturday.
Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.