By CONNOR GRAY, Assistant Editor
After losing two of their last three games, the Lady Rangers got much-needed wins against Arkansas Tech on Feb. 17 and Harding on Saturday to clinch the conference tournament.
After playing Southwestern on Feb. 15, the Lady Rangers needed to rebound quickly against the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns and the Harding Lady Bisons.
The last time the Lady Rangers played these teams, they lost, so they were looking to even the series.
The Lady Rangers’ first opponent was Arkansas Tech. The last time the Lady Rangers played the Golden Suns, Arkansas Tech won, 65-58, as the Rangers struggled in the first and third quarter.
Arkansas Tech did its best to stop anything in the paint on defense and got up close and personal to force turnovers.
The biggest challenge for the Lady Rangers was dealing with Arkansas Tech’s starting center, as she blocked multiple shots throughout the game.
The Lady Rangers relied mostly on inside scoring in the first half, as mid-range and outside shots struggled to go in.
This meant Scout Frame and Bailey Brown did most of the shooting.
The second half was different, as the Lady Rangers hit more shots in the mid-range, and Brown and Frame got Arkansas Tech’s starting center to foul out.
The Lady Rangers got the win, 70-66, and became one win away from clinching the tournament.
Frame and Brown had 23 and 22 points, respectively, combining for 55 points.
The game got more physical as it went on, and head coach Tasha Diesselhorst commented on how her post players adjusted to it.
“I thought they did a great job defending our post players,’’ Diesselhorst said. “Bailey and Scout were relentless inside and doing a good job of continuing to go at them.”
Harding was up next, and the last time they met, the Lady Rangers lost, 61-39. The Lady Rangers needed to win this to advance a spot in the postseason.
Harding was a challenge, as the Lady Rangers had to work against their centers.
Through the first half, the Lady Rangers had to play catch-up as they struggled to make shots early, which has plagued them for a good portion of the season.
Down 35-25, the third quarter is where the Lady Rangers turned it around, as they outscored Harding, 24-12, to give themselves a 49-47 lead.
The Lady Rangers kept the lead throughout the fourth quarter as Harding players tried everything they could to tie it.
The game came down to the final possession, as three different reviews occurred in the final four seconds. After a rebound, Harding tried to call a timeout with 0.3 seconds left to set up a play. However, a review determined that time expired before the timeout.
The Lady Rangers escaped with a 65-63 win.
Frame talked about how the Lady Rangers beat their centers, as it was difficult.
“We knew that, if we were able to ‘out-rebound’ them, it would give us a shot to win,” Frame said.
Frame also said that hitting the free throw helped the team out a lot.
Frame and Brown had 22 and 19 points, respectively, as their play down the stretch was critical.
In addition to the 19 points, Brown racked up seven rebounds and eight assists. Brown now has 993 rebounds, the most by a player in Lady Ranger history.
Diesselhorst also talked about what adjustments the team made in the second half versus the first.
“We settled in and made stops on defense, which led to more confidence for our offense to do what they can,” Diesselhorst said.
The Lady Rangers will look to finish strong with their last two games coming against Southern Nazarene and Southeastern.