By RANGERS ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT
Northwestern Oklahoma State’s women’s basketball team nearly knocked off top ranked conference opponent Harding in front of a packed house in Percefull Fieldhouse on Hall of Fame Day.
The Lady Rangers ultimately dropped the contest by a final score of 67-64, but hung tough the entire game against the Lady Bisons, who currently sit atop the Great American Conference standings at 11-1 in conference play. The game would go down to the final seconds after two missed free throws from Harding standout Sydney Layrock gave Lady Ranger guard Kori Barrios a chance to tie the ball game up in the final seconds.
Three different Northwestern players reached double-digit points despite shooting just 28.2 percent from the field as a team. The story of the contest however was the amount of turnovers the Lady Rangers forced against the normally consistent Lady Bisons attack. A 63.6 percent shooting percentage in the final quarter of action allowed the Lady Bisons to escape Percefull with a victory.
Senior Ashley Pride led the way with 17 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field. Texas natives Kalea King and Jonae Isaac both scored 12 points for the Lady Rangers, with Isaac leading the way in the rebounding category with five boards.
The Lady Rangers coaching staff joined the men’s team in their support for Coaches versus Cancer and came out in sneakers to support the cause. A three-point shot just before the buzzer gave the Lady Rangers an 18-15 lead after the first quarter of action. Both teams struggled from the floor early, with just five points being scored total in the first four minutes of the game.
Northwestern extended their lead at the beginning of the second half, but a 10-0 run by the Bisons midway through the quarter allowed the visiting team to outscore Northwestern 22-16 in the quarter and take a 37-34 lead into the halftime break.
Following the break in action, Northwestern regained their lead thanks to a nice layup from Pride to put the home team back on top 40-39 with 7:31 remaining in the third quarter. That lead would remain all the way through three quarters of action, with the Lady Rangers on top 55-49.
Teams would trade blows all the way down to the 2:45 mark where a 7-2 run in favor of Harding tied the contest up at 61-61. Back-to-back three-point shots from Harding gave them a 67-63 advantage. Northwestern answered with a drive down the lane from Pride, drawing the foul and converting on one-of-two attempts. Down by three points, Harding stepped out of bounds turning over possession, giving Barrios her first attempt at tying up the game, which she missed wide left. A Lady Rangers foul sent Layrock to the line, where she would miss both attempts allowing the Lady Rangers one last chance to tie the game. Barrios couldn’t convert once again, ending the upset bid for Northwestern.
The Lady Rangers will get back on the court at 5:30 p.m. this Thursday in Monticello, Arkansas to take on Arkansas-Monticello.